


Army of One • Harry Potter [1]

by TheEmmaLife (orphan_account)



Series: Army of One Series [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Death, Love, Tragedy, Tragic Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-08
Updated: 2017-02-08
Packaged: 2018-09-22 21:34:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 51
Words: 48,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9626585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/TheEmmaLife
Summary: Tom Marvolo Riddle did once love a girl. Her name was Isabelle Merlin Snow. But when Tom let the evil take over him she left... little did he know, Isabelle was in fact with child, and died when the baby was born. Taking her mothers name, she discovers her true past, and in the process falls for Harry Potter. But when the time comes she must pick a side, her family or her friends. Who will she choose?[UNDER MAJOR EDITING]Completed: 24th August 2016© All Rights Reserved 2015WARNING: I starting writing this when I was around 12, so the first 15 or so chapters are quite bad. Warning, she is very much a Mary Sue - until this is edited.





	1. Prologue

The nurse stared down at the young woman, lying dead in a bed of blood. She looked very young, no older than twenty, dressed in old clothes, smothered in dirt. Only an hour ago, dusk had painted the sky with pinks and oranges, but was now a blood red, mirroring the image of the dead beauty. 

The newborn now lay still and silent in the crib, her dark eyes staring up at the ceiling. They thought she was dead at first, but that had only been due to the mysterious silence, the baby not once crying out.

The name she was giving was rather odd, as most girls didn't have  _male_  middle names. 'Emma Tom Riddle' _,_ expect Snow had to be used on her birth certificate, according to the mother. This immediately brought up the suspicion that the newborn was an illegitimate child. She assumed the young woman had been thrown out, unmarried and alone in an unforgiving world.

The woman had mentioned nothing about her other than her name, Isabelle Snow. It wasn't a odd name, but no one in the London records had come up with the same name. But one thing was for sure, there was record of a  _Tom Riddle_ born at the orphanage, around fifty years earlier. Maybe there was a connection there, it wouldn't seem too coincidental, but there had been no record of where Tom Riddle had gone once he had left. Nothing at all.

Sometimes, however, secrets are buried for a long time before they're dug up.


	2. 1 - The Strange Man

** 12 years later **

**Emma's POV**

I stared out at the murky sky above me, mirroring my feelings. I could hear the loud stomping of the younger children downstairs, ignoring the reality of their pointless lives. I had been abandoned, just like them. I'd always wondered why my mother didn't give me to another family member, but after hearing the tale of her turning up on the doorstep and dying an hour later, she was clearly not in the best situation. 

The orphanage was a dismal place, it could eventually drive you into madness. That's what the everyone at the orphanage thought I was;  _mad_. They always warned away the couples coming to adopt, telling them I was a freak. Perhaps that's why my birthday had been forgotten again by the matrons and children, who tended to avoid me at all cost.

My birthday always reminded me of what my life for the past twelve years could've been like. Maybe I could've had parents, who lived in a small cottage in the country. Maybe a school with nice teachers and students, who didn't call you names. Maybe the freakish things that happen, wouldn't happen. 

I could feel the eyes of the matron watching me as I stared out the window, always so scared of me, despite my innocence. Why she was standing in my doorway, I didn't know.

"Emma, you have a visitor," she muttered, avoiding my gaze. I turned around sharply on my chair; no one had  _ever_  come to visit me. To my surprise , an elderly man stood at the door, he had a long grey beard and was wearing some odd sort of clothing. He had twinkling blue eyes, that seemed to stare into my soul. I felt a prodding feeling in my head, like he was trying to look into my mind. I shut the feeling out, and saw a surprised look come over the man's face. He nodded at the matron and she exited, shutting the door on her way out. He came and sat down on the wobbly chair across from my bed.

"How do you do Emma?" he said staring at me. It was like he was examining me, like an interesting experiment.

"Your a doctor, aren't you," I stated, glaring outside at the children playing across the street.

"No, I'm a Professor," he said. I raised my eyebrows at him, not believing a word he said.

"I don't believe you, she wants me looked at. They all think I'm... different," I muttered coldly, my disgust evident.

"Perhaps they're right," he said, as though it was something  _fabulous._

"I'm not mad," I insisted.

"Hogwarts, is not a place for mad people. Hogwarts is a school, a school of  _magic_ ," he said. I stared at him wide eyed; he thinks  _I'm_ mad?

"You can do things can't you Emma? Things other children can't." 

My smirk faltered, staring at the untrustworthy man. I felt so  _compelled_ to respond, like he was pulling the words right out of my mouth.

"I can make things move without touching them... I can make animals do what I want without training them... I can make bad things happen to people who are mean to me... I can make them hurt, if I want, who are you?" I asked curiously.

"Well I'm like you Emma, I'm different." I didn't believe him at all. No one could do what  _I_  could do.

"Prove it!" I spat.

The useless fire place that never seemed to work suddenly lit up. I stared wide eyed at the man, who was holding an odd looking stick in the fire's direction. 

"You see Emma, I am a wizard, and you are a witch. There are many others like you, and you are invited to my school. Hogwarts will teach you not only how to use magic, but how to control it," he said. He was staring at me like he recognised me, more like he saw a ghost.

"Whenever a witch or wizard is born, a trace put on them until they are 17 to monitor underage magic. This also means their information is recorded in the ministry of magic. You, for some reason, do not have the trace. The only reason I knew you were a witch is because I could sense the magic in the building. I was not here to see you, just to...  _reflect_  on an old memory. You would start in your second year of Hogwarts, as no one knew of you until now. But I believe you could catch up easily."

"Were my parents witches and wizards? My last name is Snow," I said with curiosity. He had a look of realisation crossed his face, and he nodded at me.

"Yes, there is a wizarding family by the name of Snow. Unfortunately, however their line ended many years ago."

"Well, if you would like to be escorted to buy your school things -" he started.

"I'm fine. Just tell me where to go," I interrupted, wanting the weird man to leave as quickly as possible.

"The Leaky Cauldron, in London." 

He pulled a parchment letter from his robe and passed it to me. It had a red seal on the back, and green ink with my name on it on the front. 

As he gathered himself and began to leave the room, I noticed a small part of the seal had a snake on it.

"I can speak to snakes too... they find me...  _whisper_  things. Is that normal for someone like me?" I asked curiously. He whipped around, a face full of worry. After he contained his shock he responded,

"It's rare, but not impossible. I know of one person many years ago who had the same  _talent._ You remind me of him in many ways..." he said.

"Who was he?" I said curiously. He hesitated for a while, before coming to a conclusion.

"That's for another time," he said, before shutting the door behind him.


	3. 2 - Gringotts

I was walking along the busy streets of London, dodging through the many taller people. I wore my my orphanage dress, scruffy and torn. I couldn't wait to wear something more comfortable. I was headed for the Leaky Cauldron, to go to a place called Diagon Alley. I pulled out the second letter, containing the list of supplies I would need.

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY_

_UNIFORM_   
_First-year students will require:_   
_1\. Three sets of plain work robes (black)_   
_2\. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear_   
_3\. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)_   
_4\. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)_   
_Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags._

_COURSE BOOKS_   
_All students should have a copy of each of the following:_

_The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)_   
_by Miranda Goshawk_

_A History of Magic_   
_by Bathilda Bagshot_

_Magical Theory_   
_by Adalbert Waffling_

_A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_   
_by Emeric Switch_

_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_   
_by Phyllida Spore_

_Magical Drafts and Potions_   
_by Arsenius Jigger_

_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_   
_by Newt Scamander_

_The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_   
_by Quentin Trimble_

_OTHER EQUIPMENT_   
_1 wand_   
_1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)_   
_1 set glass or crystal phials_   
_1 telescope_   
_1 set brass scales_   
_Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus_   
_Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions_

It was an odd list of supplies, I was so confused to where I would find any of this. I looked up to see I had arrived at my destination, that the crowd of people seemed to walk past like it wasn't there. It had an old, faded sign handing above the door. The door had paint peeling off it and a dark, dismal aura coming from it. I slowly opened the door, which hinges hadn't been oiled in a while due to the rather loud screech. There were quite odd people sitting inside, smoking pipes and laughing as they told stories. I walked to the bar, where a barman named Tom was serving. 

"Excuse me sir?" I said politely. He looked down over the counter at my small figure and seemed to already know what I was going to ask. He motioned for me to follow him over to a door on the other side of the pub, which lead to an incased area with a few barrels. I was rather confused until he started tapping the brick wall in a certain formation with what I assumed was his wand. 

The bricks started wiggling and pulled away to reveal the most brilliant sight. The alley was packed with people wearing interesting cloaks and robes, with large parcels. There were lots of different stores selling books, cauldrons, quills and more. There were little stores on the side selling different plants and an ice-cream store with a long line of children my age queuing up behind it. But I then realised,  _what am I going to buy this with?_ Surely I had the right to my mother's money, so I just needed to find a bank.

It was then I spotted a snowy-white building at the end of the alley, that towered over all of the shops with 'Gringotts Bank' written on it. There was a short, shrivelled skinned creature standing outside the bronze doors. I entered and walked up to the front desk, watching as hundreds of the creatures weighed stacks of gold and stamped things on them. The creature at the front desk peered down over at me.

"What do you want, child," he sneered rather unpleasantly. 

"I need some money from my mother's vault, if she has one," I said clearly, not intimidated by the creature.

"Family name?" he questioned bored.

"Snow." He stared in shock, but then a smirk appeared on his shrivelled face.

"The Snow volt can only be accessed by a relative? We would need a sample of your blood."

"No problem." I took a small pin from his hand and pricked my finger, a drop of blood oozing out. I then dabbed it onto the piece of paper he handed out to me. Somehow that confirmed my identity, so he motioned another one of the creatures to come to the desk.

"Griphook will escort you," he said.

The ride was incredibly fun, swishing and swerving like the roller coasters in the muggle world. I swear I saw a dragon once though, and we went through this odd fountain that drenched me. After we went through that, the goblin turned around and gave me a suspicious look. We dropped down endless stories of vaults, until finally the track ended. The vault was at the very bottom of the bank, it had and enormous door. It was black with sapphires all over it. 

"What do I do to get in?" I was slightly confused with the whole situation.

"Touch the door." I went up and placed my hand on the door, it melted away at my touch. There were piles reaching the ceilings of gold coins and mounds of silver and bronze ones. It was like a library of gold. Never had I imagined my mother had been this rich, I could certainly buy more than a comfortable dress with this. I went to the nearest pile and heaved a few hundred gold coins into my rucksack, along with some silver and bronze ones. But I then found it was impossible for me to pick up. The goblin interfered, waving his hand over the bag, which instantly became weightless. It was quite fascinating,  _could I do that someday?_


	4. 3 - Diagon Alley

After leaving Gringotts, I headed through crowds to a shop that sold robes. The store was called  _'Madam Malkins robes for all occasions'_ , and had many robes on display in the window. I stepped inside the store, which had a bell at the top notifying the woman of my arrival.

"First year dear?"

"Uh, yes..." I wasn't exactly sure, seeing as I was going into second year, but it was my first year at Hogwarts.

"Right, well go stand on the stool next to the boy over there." I walked over to see a boy with bleach blonde hair and an unpleasant smirk on his face examining himself out in the mirror.

"Hello," he said smirking, "my name is Malfoy, Draco Malfoy. I'm pureblood. A Slytherin. By the looks of you, you are a mudblood."

"I'm Emma and I don't know what a mudblood is?" A tape measure was flying around me taking all of my measurements.

"How can you not know what a blood status is? You must be a filthy little mudblood. Where are your pathetic excuse of parents?" he sneered very offensively.

"They are dead, and I am an orphan who has come from an non-magical orphanage. I'm sorry if until today I could not afford clothes. What are you talking about?

"A status is how pure your blood is, there are Purebloods, Half-Bloods and Mudbloods," he said sneering the last, "If your parents are both witches and wizards and their parents were witches and wizards etc., with no muggles in the bloodline, you are pureblood. If you have a parent who is a wizard and your other parent a muggle or mudblood than you are Half-Blood. If your parents are muggle you are a filthy little mudblood. By the looks of what your wearing I assume you are a mudblood."

"Well, Mr. spoilt little brat. Both my parents were wizards. I know my mother must be pureblood but I do not know of my father, apart from him being a wizard."

"Well then I accept you."

"I would rather not be accepted by an arrogant prick," I said fuming. I stepped down from the stall and walked out of the shop with my robes wrapped in packages. Next I went to a book store named  _'Flourish and Blotts'_. Once I gathered all the necessary books, I had a look around the shop. I saw some other interesting books like  _'Hogwarts; a History', 'Advanced Potions', 'The Dark Arts'_ and  _'Famous Events of the 20th Century'_. I also bought the books for 2nd years, seeing as I would be in that year, and all the way to seventh year. I went to the counter to pay, and just in time as a whole crowd of people entered a shop talking about someone called Lockheart. I quickly left the shop, wanting avoid the chaos.

Seeing as I had no need to go back to the orphanage, as I had no other belongings, I booked a room at the Leaky Cauldron and left my packages in my rooms before going out for an explore. I went into a store next to Madam Malkin's called  _'Amanuensis Quills'_. I bought some quills, ink and parchment for school and a notebook for personal use. I then went to the ice cream parlour, which the line had decreased, and had a chocolate chip ice-cream. I had only ever had ice-cream once, on a orphanage field trip to the zoo, where I spent the whole time speaking to a snake. I then took a look in ' _Quality Quidditch Supplies',_ which many kids were crowding around the window of. I bought a book about the game Qudditch, reading it right there in the shop, only to become fascinated.

_"Look the Nimbus 2001! Fastest model yet!"_

_"It's 2000 gallons! Why so expensive?"_

_"Because it's the fastest, stupid!"_

I could hear the group of kids, a little younger than me, from across the shop. I wandered over to see what they were looking at, only to see the most beautiful looking broom I have ever seen. I went to the counter, and asked the woman for the broom. She looked shocked, but went out the back and brought out a wrapped version of the broom. After I paid, I then headed to the wand shop named  _'Ollivanders'_. 

I walked into the shop, only to find it empty. I was looking around when a man appeared from out the back. I turned and looked at him carefully, and like Dumbledore, he looked at me like I was a ghost. 

"And who may you be?" he asked curiously. 

"Emma Snow," I said staring at him. Something flashed through his eyes that I couldn't quite place, a sort of uneasiness. He started offering me wands, but my attention was drawn to a box in the far back of the store. He follow my gaze, and he went and pulled the box out, and looked at me in  _fear_. 

"12 inches, pheonix feather, elder wood." I took the wand from his hand and immediately sparks shot from the tip of it.

"That pheonix only gave three feathers Miss  _Snow._ A young boy came in last year, taking one of them... and another many years ago who reminds me a lot of you. I expect many things from you Miss  _Snow,_ use it well.. _."_

After that rather  _interesting_ encounter with Mr. Olivander, I headed back to the Leaky Caldron. I had bought a trunk, so I then started packing my things. After finishing packing the few clothes I had and all my school equipment into my trunk, I then went through and read all of the books, trying  _and_  succeeding first time all of the spells. I then picked up  _'Famous Events of the 20th Century'_. I read a lot more on Harry Potter, the boy who live, and Voldemort, the Dark Lord. I find that story quite interesting. I then found a lot on my mother, Isabelle Snow. She was the first witch in history to be sorted into all four houses at Hogwarts. I read all about the Houses and I couldn't make up my mind about which one I would wanted to be in... I am brave. I am loyal. I am smart. I am cunning. So what would I be sorted in? I packed everything into my trunk and fell asleep on the bed.


	5. 4 - Hogwarts

As I lay in the bed, far more comfortable than my orphanage one, I stared at the ceiling thinking about what is to come. I wasn't exactly sure if I would fit in at Hogwarts, I had never had a  _friend_. I wasn't particularly social, more introverted and quiet. I had always had difficulty being anything other than  _awkward._  I wasn't particularly good at talking to people without scaring them away, but perhaps wizards and witches were different. Hopefully, they weren't like that stuck-up brat I encountered in the robe shop.

I stood up from my bed, my cold feet hitting the wooden floor as I approached the old mahogany vanity across the room. I stared into the mirror, my small figure rather obvious. I was rather underfeed, having only just enough food at the orphanage. My height didn't help, standing at only 5 feet. I had dark brown hair and eyes so dark they were almost black.

Apparently, I don't look at all like my mother, from what the nurses could see. She had blonde hair and brown eyes, with very pale skin. This left evidence of my father, who I assumed was a drunken mistake.

I exited the Leaky Cauldron at dawn with my belongings, before wandering through the streets to King's Cross Station. I walked to the brick wall between platform's nine and ten. I made sure no one saw me when I ran through the wall, like the books I had read said to do. On the other side of the wall there was a stunning scarlet train waiting by the platform. I was rather early, which was a relief as I could get a compartment to myself. I levitated my trunk onto the train and found an empty compartment. I watched as families entered the station, giving them a nice farewell before they leave. I must admit I feel lonely. Happy families... well that's something that would never be the same for me. The train began to move at 11 o'clock, I continued to re-reading my course books. It was had been about an hour when the trolley came around. I didn't know what anything was so I just got a chocolate frog. After working out  _how_  to eat it I turned my card over.

_Isabelle Merlin Snow_

_Isabelle Snow was most commonly known for being the first person to be sorted_ _into all for houses and being the direct descendant of Merlin. She was known for her 'pure heart', as the Sorting Hat put it. There is no known whereabouts of her, she went missing many_ _years ago._

I read all of this in a book last night, but it still interested me. I always wanted to know her story, her letter wasn't very vivid...

After about an hour, I changed into my robes and the train arrived at Hogsmede Station soon after. 

"Firs' years follow me!" There was an gigantic man with beady eyes and frizzy hair holding a lantern. I hopped into a boat with some girls, slightly younger than me. I was absolutely gobsmacked at the sight of the castle, lit up in the night with thousands of torches. We entered the castle under a cliff, having to duck through the cave in order to not get hit. I kind of zoned out of the journey, too mesmerised at the beauty of the castle. The great hall was even more intriguing, the roof seemed to open to the heavens. We gathered at the bottom of the steps were the famous Sorting Hat sat on a stool. The Professor stepped forward, holding a long roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. I ignored everyone who was called, until there was just me and another girl was left. "Now we have a new student coming into second year: Snow, Emma!" 

The hall erupted in whispers but I just ignored them and walked confidently up to the stool and placed on the hat on my head. 

 _"My my, your mother was in all the houses! Yes I remember her, Isabelle Snow. But your father I find far more interesting... a Slytherin - with the wrong sort of intentions. You seem to be exactly like your father, just not as... dark. Well, for your own sake..._ GRYFFINDOR!" 

The table erupted in cheers and I walked down to the table, sitting down next to a girl called Hermione Granger, who was friends with  _Harry Potter_  and a boy named Ron Weasley. Hermione was quite like me, very interested in the academics. She chatted happily with me and Ginny Weasley, the girl sorted after to me. She was rather worried about her friends however, the didn't seem to make it onto the train. I had another shock when all the food appeared on the table, I had never seen so much in my life. I greedily helped myself, my mouth watering at the sight. 

Once we finished eating the biggest meal of my life, a prefect showed the first-years up to the common room and dormitories, and I tagged along, as Hermione had gone off to find her friends. I was quite pleased to hear I was sharing a dormitory with Hermione, not so much Lavender Brown and Parvarti Patal, which seemed to enjoying bitching about people the moment they entered the room. As soon as I was upstairs and changed I collapsed in to bed, a fell asleep for the first time feeling  _happy_.


	6. 5 - Harry Potter & Classes

The next day I woke up very early. It was only 5am when I headed down to breakfast. I ate very slowly while reading an interesting book about Potions. The book had my undivided attention until Hermione entered with two boys which I assumed were Ron and Harry. Ron had red hair and freckles, he looked longingly at the food. Harry however, was  _gorgeous_. He had dazzling green eyes and ruffled, untidy brown hair. They sat down beside me and talked about the incident the previous day. Apparently they had driven a flying car to school... odd. Harry seemed to be staring at me out of the corner of his eyes, but didn't speak up until Ron finally noticed me.

"Hi, I'm Ron Weasley. Haven't seen you before, first year?" 

"I know, Hermione told me about you two last night. No, I'm a second year. Turns out I didn't come up under the trace," I turned to Harry, "you must be Harry Potter."

He blushed, "uh, yeh."

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Emma Snow." 

We ate in silence, devouring the food until Professor McGonagall came round and handed us our schedules. First was Transfiguration, then a free period, followed by DADA, Potions and Charms. Hermione and I left the boys to finish eating and headed off to Transfiguration. Hermione explained the subject, it seemed to be something I do in everyday life anyway. We walked into class and sat up the front. The boys then came in and sat behind us. There was a pretty brief introduction to the subject and we went straight onto learning how to turn animals into water goblets. She came around and asked us one by one to perform the spell, everyone watched you and I could practically see some kids shaking in their seats. Not one had succeeded so far until Hermione got it on her 5th try, earning 10 points for our house. 

"Now, Ms. Snow, I believe your new so I will not expect to you to get this but just give it a try,  _fereverto_." 

I took my wand out, and waved it over the bird, doing the spell non-verbally. The whole class fell silent. I got a lot of jealous looks and shocked stares.

"Where did you learn to do that? No one has been able to do that... except..." she said shocked. She then looked carefully at me and then had that same expression as Dumbledore and Olivander, exactly like she had seen a ghost. 

"Uh, I just did it non-verbally..." I said shyly.

*

Word got around the school by lunchtime, and everyone seemed to be staring at me. I caught the Malfoy boy from Madam Malkins pointing at me and laughing, so I gave him my famous 'death glare', let's just say that shut him up... 

Second class was DADA, with the  _fraud_. I remember reading about Legimency and Occlumency, so I tried it on him. His mind is wide open for me too read like a book, turns out he just used memory charms on wizards and claimed what they had done, that utter  _fraud!_ The class was basically entirely about him and nothing to do with the Dark Arts. I just sat at the back with Harry not listening. Potions, however, was something else. Professor Snape, as I was warned, despises Harry. He sneered his last name on the roll call until he reached my name.

"Emma Snow? Any relation to Isabelle Snow?"

"She was my mother..." causing gasps around the class.

" _So_... would you like to  _clear_   _up_  what happened to her?"

"She died. The end," I said with no emotion. People looked at me weirdly, like I should care. I do, but let's get this straight. I never knew my mother, there were no memories what so ever. I refuse to think about it or I just get upset.

"Very well, seeing as you are a year behind in potions, let's see if you can handle this class. Or end up like a pathetic excuse like Mr. Potter," he said. I ended up proving him wrong, finishing the potion only 15 minutes into the class, and I was paired with Harry, so he didn't suffer.

Charms was the same as Transfiguration, I attempted a charm and got it on the first try, non-verbally. I could tell Hermione was extremely jealous, but I couldn't help it, it just happened.


	7. 6 - The Chamber of Secrets

The next few months were quite dull. I topped the class,  _much_  to Hermione's jealousy, yet the teachers,  _especially_ Professor Mcgonagal favoured her. I still got nervous stares from the older teachers, and Hagrid was  _very_  wary of me. This morning, I decided I was going to do some research on my family. I found lots on my mother... but not on my father. It wasn't until I went snooping around the trophy room that I found something.  _Tom Marvolo Riddle, Special Services for the School Award._ Was this the same Tom Riddle that Dumbledore told me about, the one who could speak to snakes as well. There was a photo attached to the back of the trophy, and boy was I shocked. He looked  _exactly_ like me, nothing was different. He could've been my twin had we been the same age. No wonder the older teachers looked at me like a ghosts, but they looked at me in  _fear_. He  _had_  to be my father. Attached to the back of the photo was a piece of folded parchment.

_I, Headmaster Dippet, award a Special Services award to Mr. Riddle for aid in solving the cause of the many attacks involving the Chamber of Secrets._

The Chamber of Secrets? I remember reading about that in  _Hogwarts, A History._ A hidden Chamber owned by Salazar Slytherin, was thought to be opened 50 years ago according to a news article. Held some sort of monster that killed a muggle-born. Until someone was captured and all was well... well at least my father did something good,  _but I'm not sure I quite believe that_. Why would the teachers look at me in fear if he was such a well commended student... I knew I had to do some research this weekend, to find out what happened to Tom Riddle, my possible father.

I exited the trophy room to go meet Harry after his detention with Lockhart. I was walking along and ran into Hermione and Ron. We headed to Lockhart's classroom when I heard a hissing voice. I stopped dead in my tracks, Hermione and Ron turned around to me. 

" _I smell blood..."_

"Do you hear that voice?" I asked. 

"No..." replied Hermione. 

Ron looked at me weirdly, I guess I was probably just hallucinating... I shrugged my shoulders, and kept walking, ignoring the disturbing voices that are haunting me. That was until we ran into Harry. 

"Do you hear those voices?" he said. My eyes widened, I'm not hallucinating?

"Yes/No/No," we said at the same time. We shared worried looks before Harry and I followed the voice until we reached the 3rd floor corridor where Moaning Myrtle's bathroom is. On the wall there was a message.

_The Chamber of Secrets has been opened, enemies of the heir beware._

And worst of all, it was written in blood. 

*

Days past and people were giving us all funny looks, probably thinking that we were the culprits... it wasn't until the day after the qudditch match, where Harry got a taste of Lockhart's fraud, that people started getting really worried. Colin Creevy had gotton petrified the night before, and tension was rising. That was when an 'afterschool duelling class' was put in order. 

We headed down to the great hall after class. All the tables were put to the side and there was Lockhart, boasting about his great duelling achievements. We were split into pairs, annoyingly by Snape. I was paired with Pansy Parkinson, while Harry was paired with Malfoy. I flicked my wand and she was thrown back against the wall, unconscious. Everyone was staring in awe, apart from Harry and Malfoy who were in a full on duel. That was until Malfoy cast the snake spell and a serpent emerged from his wand. Harry was telling it to stop...  _wait,_ why can he talk to snakes? I thought it was just me and my father? People were giving him looks like he was the devil.

We were walking back to the common room, me rather silent. Harry was confessing his worries about possibly being the heir of Slytherin, and Hermione and Ron weren't helping. They gave him weird looks and hurried off to their downs. Harry turned and looked at me, examining my uncomfortable face.

"What, you think I'm the heir of Slytherin too?" he said with an accusing face. 

"What, no!"

"Then what's the problem?"

"How can you speak to snakes, I thought it was just me. And that's because my father could..."

"Well- wait what?" he said shocked.

"I understood you. I heard what you said, I thought I was the only one," I said confused. I clearly had it genetically, but why could Harry speak to snakes?


	8. 7 - Truth Hurts

It was approaching Christmas time and Harry had been very distressed. For some reason he didn't tell Ron & Hermione about me being a parselmouth, which turned out to be the word for people who could speak to snakes, which I am extremely thankful for. Everyone seemed to be avoiding Harry apart from me, which unfortunately caused some rumours about us 'killing together'. It has actually got so ridiculous, I decided to do some research just to prove Harry's innocence. 

I headed down to the Library while the rest of the school was eating breakfast before the qudditch match. I went looking through the 'S' section but couldn't find much. It wasn't until I came across a book in the 'F' section the startled me, ' _Founding Families'._ I found large family trees going through the book. I decided to have a look down the Slytherin line to see who the  _real_  culprit is. I traced down seeing names like 'Marvolo Gaunt', who is said to be dead. Then there are his children, Morfin Gaunt and Merope Gaunt, both dead. But I traced down a line from Merope Gaunt to find a name that almost made me puke. _Tom Riddle._ So the man I think is my father was actually the Heir of Slytherin, which would explain my parseltounge. But that also means  _I'm_ the heir? All I know is that 50 years ago he must have framed someone for the crimes. And he might be doing it right now, but how does no one know of him? And how did he get into the school?

I was heading out of the Library when I bumped into Hermione, she was holding a mirror and looked at me frantically. 

"Emma! I know what the monster is! It's a Basilisk! A giant snake that if you look into it's eyes kills you! If you look through a reflection you only get petrified! That's why Harry can hear the voices, it's a snake!  _Wait_ \- then why did you here it?" she said accusingly.

"I'm a parselmouth too. Oh and also I did some research, Harry's bloodline doesn't even come close to Slytherins! Why he speaks a language which is passed through genetics, I don't know..." she looked relived but confused. We approached a corner and she held out her mirror.

"Look into this around corners with me, better petrified then dead!" 

We held it out and spun the mirror around and there was two, gleaming yellow eyes. I turned to my side and there was Hermione, petrified on the floor. I went around the corner and saw a GIANT snake, looking at me rather confused.  _Why am I not petrified._ It then slithered away, ignoring my state of utter shock. I burst into tears and ran into the girls lavatory. I collapsed on the floor and cried for a while. 

"What's wrong?" I snapped my head up to see a ghost of a small girl with pigtails and glasses floating above me. 

"My friend got petrified..." I said bursting into another set of tears. She came up to me and I felt an icy feeling on my shoulder.

"Well that's sad. Everyone teases me because I died in a bathroom... at least she will be able to be revived..." she said sobbing.

"May I asked how you died?" I said curiously. 

"Well, seeing as I have no one else to talk too... I was crying in the stall over there," she said pointing to an broken stall, "I was crying because Oliver Hornby was teasing me about my glasses. And I heard someone come in, they then started speaking some funny sort of language. I then realised it was a boy speaking and I opened the door to tell him to go away, and I...  _died_." I stared in confusion, she just died? 

"Uh..." I stared at her weirdly. 

"All I remember is seeing a big pair of yellow eyes, over by that sink." 

*

The next few days I tried to process what the ghost had said. So the basilisk killed her with it's eyes... but why was my father in the girls bathroom? 

Hermione getting petrified caused huge commotion throughout the school. I didn't tell anyone about seeing the Basilisk though, I didn't want to be a huge suspect in the situation. I did however find out who got framed. I was walking with Harry and Ron, while Harry was explaining that's why Hagrid got expelled in his third year. I suddenly felt a great deal of guilt hit me. What if he got sent to Azkaban for this! I immediately ran down to Hagrid's hut and knocked on the door. He opened it hesitantly,

"What are you doing here?" I raised my eyebrows and he studied my face. 

"I know you were framed for opening the chamber of secrets in your third year Hagrid."

"How do you know?" he said shocked.

"Because my father was the one who framed you, wasn't he? That's why you give me funny looks!" I said in realisation. He grumbled under his breath and motioned me inside, where we had a well needed conversation. He still didn't like me though, unfortunately my father's actions still made him judgemental of me. I guess that will haunt me for the rest of my life...


	9. 8 - Daddy's Diary

I have visited Hermione (in her petrified state) alot over the last few days. I couldn't help but feel an overwhelming guilt over the whole situation. This was my father's fault and I couldn't do anything about it. I read all about the Basilisk in the Library, interested to how I survived. I was sitting in between to large bookcases at the back of the Library, so no one could go snooping at what I was reading. I was carefully eliminating possibilities of my survival when I felt eyes on me. I looked up to see Professor Dumbledore sitting across from me, staring at my curiously. 

"Professor Dumbledore," I said acknowledging him.

"Miss Snow, nice to see you. Just checking on how you've been settling in..." he said.

"I've been doing fine, Professor."

"That's good to hear. I hear your friends with Mr. Potter and his friends," he said suspiciously.

"Yes, Harry is very nice," I said blushing at the thought. He looked surprised at my reaction, like he expected something different.

"Yes, Mr. Potter has a kind heart. What are you reading?" he said interested. 

"Ancient Magical Beasts," I said, avoiding the particular topic. He looked at me extremely suspiciously, like I was doing something I shouldn't be.

"Well, Miss Rid--Snow, what are you researching about?" he said curiously. But don't think I didn't catch his slip up, I was  _very_ aware.

"Just light reading," I said innocently.

"Really?" he said just as innocently. I'd had enough of his fabricated words, and slammed the book closed. I pulled the book to my chest and walked up right in front of his face, glaring at him.

"I'm not my father," I said in a deathly calm voice, before turning away to the exit of the Library, not looking back. I headed on back to the common room, to find Harry writing in some odd sort of book.

"Hey!"

"Oh, hi Em!" he said. I blushed at the nickname, while leaning over the table, curious at what he was doing. 

"Check this out! So we found this diary in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, every time you write something in it the writing disappears, then someone  _replys_! His name is Tom, he was giving me information on the chamber of secrets!" I paled slightly. 

"H-Harry, w-what is his f-full name?" I stuttered.

"Oh, the back of the diary says  _Tom Marvolo Riddle_." I stood in shock,  _this must be his plan_. 

"Ugh, Harry, do you mind if I had a look at that? I don't think it's entirely safe..." I said, trying to be convincing.

"Um... Ok," he said looking confused.

"I'll give it back later!" I said, then took the book and ran into my dorm. I closed the curtains around my bed to keep people from snooping. I grabbed my quill and made a line on the page. It just seemed to sink into the page...

' _Hello'_ came up on the page. 

' _I won't play your games...'_ I said sneering.

_'I do not believe we've meet, you are not Potter, whom I was speaking to before...'_

_'I am someone who knows what your up too. I know you framed Hagrid for opening the Chamber of Secrets. I know your doing it again...'_ I said.

_'I'm afraid I would have to dispose of you then... Pity.'_

' _You would kill your own daughter? That's just sick.'_ I could almost  _feel_ the words sinking into his mind, like he was in complete confusion.

' _I do not have a daughter.'_ I chuckled to myself, he doesn't even know. 

 _' What happened to my mother, Isabelle Snow?'_ I replied, eager for information. I could feel his shock, like he didn't understand how I knew. 

' _I don't know what you are talking about'_ he replied. 

 _'What happened?'_ I could feel the hurt radiating from the diary, like I was mentioning something that pained him.

_'What is your name?'_

_'Emma. Emma Tom Riddle. I go by Emma Snow.'_ I felt worry from him, it was strange feeling his feelings.

_'What happened to Issy?'_

' _She died in childbirth.'_

_'Who is looking after you now?'_

' _An orphanage...'_

_'You should not have had to grow up like that.'_

' _What house are you in?'_

_'Gryffindor...'_

_'WHAT? An heir of Slytherin in Gryffindor?'_

_'I was supposed to be in Slytherin but the hat didn't want to put me there, but I have friends so it's ok.'_

_'Who are your friends?'_

_'Harry, Ron and Hermione.'_ I could tell he didn't like that. Especially Harry for some reason. I looked at my clock. Damn, I needed some sleep. 

_'I'm going to bed. I expect an explanation about why my friend was petrified.'_

I shut the diary and feel into a dreamless sleep, trying to ignore the overhanging shadow of my father. In the morning the diary was gone, only to find Harry had taken it back. He refused to give it back, until one afternoon Neville rushed over to us, alerting us that something had happened. We came back to find Harry's dormitory trashed, with pillow feathers everywhere and books all over the floor. The diary was gone.


	10. 9 - Voldemort

**Apologies, I was twelve and this is unrealistic.**

The Weasley family and I were waiting desperately for Harry, Ron and Ginny to emerge from the Chamber of Secrets. Dumbledore's office was silent apart from the soft cries of Mrs. Weasley and the tapping of Mr. Weasley's foot. It seemed like hours before The door opened with a crying Ginny, concerned Ron, clueless Lockhart and exhausted Harry entered. Mrs. Weasley enveloped Ginny in a hug and everyone was ushered out of the room, excluding Harry and Ron. Lockhart was sent to the hospital wing for some reason and the Weasleys were all fussing over Ginny. Just then Ron came out with some 'release papers' in his hand and told me to go in. I walked in to see Harry standing by the desk and Dumbledore looking at me curiously. I felt a prodding in my head, he was clearly using legimency, so I locked my mind. 

"Sir, I couldn't help but notice similarities between me and Tom..." said Harry. My eyes widened at my father's name, but I collected myself quickly.

"Ah, Harry. You can speak parseltongue, because Voldermort can speak parseltongue," replied Dumbledore.  _When did Voldemort come into this?_

"When he gave you that scar, he transferred some of his powers into you, unwillingly, of course."

"Then how can Emma speak parseltongue?" he asked. Dumbledore snapped his head towards me.

"You can speak parseltongue can you?" he asked with a somewhat threatening tone.

"Yes... but my father could too..." Realisation dawned across his face. 

"You do know Tom Riddle is Voldemort?" I froze.  _Did I hear that correctly?_ My eyes widened and I ran out of the office, up the many staircases, until I finally reached the common room. I ran up the stairs to find my dormitory empty, thankfully. I collapsed onto my bed in tears, knowing that Harry would never forgive me. I eventually found myself drifting off into a deep sleep.

I woke up to find an odd figure beneath me. I opened my eyes to see Harry asleep next to me, with his glasses lopsided and his mouth half open. His eyes fluttered open and I was hit with reality.

"Harry, I get if you don't want to be my friend-" I was cut off by his lips on mine. OH MY MERLIN! He was kissing me, and before I knew it I was kissing him back. Fireworks erupted in my stomach and we broke away both grinning like idiots. 

"Would you like to be my girlfriend?"  _What is going on?_

"Yes!"

*

We were sitting in the carriage on the way back from Hogwarts. I was dreading going back to the orphanage, where I would suffer of boredom and loneliness all holiday. 

"Ugh, how am I going to live without doing magic for 2 months?" This is all that Hermione had been complaining about for the last 10 minutes. I was grinning to myself well she complained. 

"But how would they know if you did magic?" I asked curiously. 

"The trace of course!" she insisted. This made me smirk.

"I don't have the trace remember. That's why they couldn't find me, Dumbledore was at the orphanage and he 'sensed my magic'," they all gawked at me in jealousy.

We arrived at the platform at 4 o'clock. We all said our farewells to the Weasley family, and then ran through the barrier to where Harry and Hermione's families were waiting. I sighed and pulled my rucksack on my back and pulled my trunk off my trolley. I did some secret magic making it weightless, but I would still have to hurl it through London for an hour or so. Harry looked at me sympathetically next to his apparently 'mean' relatives. I struggled pulling my oversized trunk over to him, while his relatives gave me weird looks.

"How far a walk is it?" he said his voice dripping with concern while he pushed a strand of hair out of my face.

"An hour or so. It's not a very nice orphanage..." I said sadly. The woman who I assumed was his aunt looked horrified. 

"It's not safe on the streets at this time, and pulling that!" she said, making me scoff.

"Safer than my orphanage. And plus, what other choice do I have?"

"You can stay with us," she insisted. 

"Oh, I really don't mean to bother you!" I said politely.

"No problem dear."


	11. 10 - Lamppost Conversations & Dementors

I've had the best summer of my life. Even though just helping Harry with chores seems boring, it's better than being locked in a room for 2 months. Dudley had taken quite a liking to me, and was constantly asking me out, like he was somehow entitled to me. 

That day, Harry's Aunt Marge was coming over for dinner and I wasnot looking forward to it. Harry said she always made fun of his parents, and constantly insulted him. She arrived at 5pm and Harry had to get the door, we just had to do the dishes while she was here. It was ok until they started talking about school. 

"So where did you send the boy?" the pig asked. 

"St. Brutises, a school for hopeless cases," laughed Vernon. 

"Where's the girl from?"

"Oh, Harry and I go to the same school," I said.

"So, where are your parents?" said Marge.

"Dead."

"How did they die?" she said, getting nosy.

"Childbirth and my father got murdered by a baby," I said smirking.

Harry laughed at that while I grinned.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she said, once again getting nosy.

"Doesn't matter," I muttered, laughing under my breath.

"What did the boy's parents do?"

"Nothing, they were drunks," replied Petunia. 

"THAT'S A LIE!" shouted Harry. 

"That's not true now, is it Petunia? If it was why has Harry inherited such a large fortune," I said glaring.

"Well that's out of the point..." Petunia muttered.

"Well, if there is something wrong with the bitch, there is something wrong with the pup!" said Marge rudely.

"Shut up! Shut up!" shouted Harry. The lights started fluttering, so I have him a hug and glared at the family of pigs.

"Well what did your parents do?" asked Vernon.

"My mother was from a rich family and inherited a fortune so there was no need to work," I said smirking.

" _Rich, fortune,_ your making me laugh. If you came from a rich family you would have plenty of family members to go to not an  _orphanage,"_ he said, and the whole table laughed.

"Someone named Grindelwald killed every single member of my family but my mother, who died of childbirth. So where did you  _expect_  me to go?" I said infuriated,

Then she started blowing up, literally. She floated out the door and into the sky. While everyone tried to pull her down, Harry grabbed my hand and dragged me upstairs. We packed our belongings quickly and dragged our trunks downstairs. Vernon came to stop us but Harry pulled out his wand and aimed at him.

"Your not allowed to do magic outside of school, you'll be expelled," he said half happily, half scared. 

"I can't, but she can," he said smirking at me.

We raced out the door and walked along the road, until we came to a park with a large playground. We sat on the side of the street under a lamppost.

"You ever wonder about the future?" Harry asked out of the blue.

"I don't know, cause it's not just fun and games. Life is full of unexpected surprises, most of them not the best..."I said.

Harry just stared at me for a while, we just stared into each other's eyes for a minute or so, until he spoke up.

"What are you going to do about your Dad?" this made me think. Will Voldemort ever return? How? When?  _What will people think about him being my father?_

"I think I need to keep it a secret. Even from Hermione and Ron. It can't just slip out because it will be used against me," he nodded in agreement.

"You knew something when you saw me writing in the diary..." he said rather confused. 

"I just found out he was my father. I saw a photo of him in the trophy room, he looked exactly like me. I found out he was the Heir of Slytherin in a book. I knew about Hagrid getting framed, I knew what the monster was. I was there when the Basilisk attacked Hermione, I looked straight into it's eyes and nothing happened. The only information I was missing was the most important, Tom Riddle  _is_  Voldemort. That's why the teachers stare at me, I look like him."

"Does he know about you?" he said curiously

"Yes. I confronted him using the diary..." I said.

"It's weird to think he was your father. He is a cold-blooded murderer. You have the kindest and warmest heart of any person I've ever met..." he said spacing out, making me blush and giggle. He leaned over and gave me the sweetest kiss, only to be interrupted by a big purple bus screech around the corner. Way to ruin the moment. 

"Welcome to the Nightbus for a stranded witch or wizard."

*

The next morning I woke up in Harry's arms, at the Leaky Cauldron which we were dropped off at the night before. Once we got changed we headed downstairs to hear the familiar voices of Ron and Hermione bickering about Crookshanks chasing Scabbers. Mione suddenly turned around and saw us. 

"Harry! Emma!" she shouted and ran over and engulfed us in a hug almost knocking us off our feet. 

We had a strange breakfast with the Weasley's. They all reacted differently with me. Most were nice, but Ginny seemed to hate me, really hate me. She kept looking at Harry and blushing and glared at me when we were holding hands or he had his arm around my waist. I suspect she is jealous, but there had to be more just to hate me like that. But then there was Mrs. Weasley who was super sweet, she is was lovely to me.   
  
  


We were on the platform when Harry was pulled aside by Mr. Weasley. He gave the 'I'll tell you later' look and we all jumped on the train. After Harry arrived he explained that Sirius Black was after him, but personally I don't think Black murdered them. There was no trial, and there was no actually evidence Black did the spell. I'll still be wary however, but it just didn't seem right. We fell asleep, only to be woken by the train stopping soon after. We looked at each other confused, we couldn't have possibly be there yet. Suddenly, it dropped about 20 degrees and the windows froze over. Ron put his hand on the window, looking outside in fear. We looked towards the door, that had opened to see a black figure swooping into the compartment. It came over to Harry and I and suddenly, I was reliving memories I didn't want to remember.

" _She's a Freak!"_

_"People say she's mad..."_

_"That child is cursed, I swear... I wouldn't go near her..."_

Then blackness.  
  
*

I woke up, with a headache. I found myself on the floor of the compartment with every staring over me. There was one person who I didn't recognise though, he was far to old to be a student though.

"Here, chocolate helps," he said smiling. I took it gratefully, and it instantly made me feel better. It turns out Harry had fainted as well, he just woke up earlier. 

When the train finally arrived, we all piled into the carriages and headed up too the school. I was snuggling up too Harry, as I still felt a little sick. He put his arms around my waist as we entered the great hall and went to sit down with the clump of students who had just arrived. I got a lot of unwanted stares, and Draco Malfoy was pretending to faint, with his Slytherin buddies laughing along. He must have somehow heard that Harry and I fainted on the train.

"Just ignore them," whispered Harry, following my stare. We sat down and listened to the opening speech. Hagrid was made Care of Magical Creatures professor and the man who gave me chocolate, Remus Lupin, was made DADA. I didn't really touch my food, I wasn't feeling well after fainting. Hermione and Ron were giving me sympathetic looks. It wasn't till Harry starting harassing me, that I actually ate something.

"Thank you..." he said teasingly, after I had given in. I gave him a peck, only to hear gagging. I looked over to see Ron gagging and Hermione whacking him over the head with a book with a large grin on her face.


	12. 11 - Talons, Tea Leaves and Boggarts

I woke up to Mione hitting me with a pillow. 

"Get up! We have class!" she shouted. I groaned and rolled out of bed, heading for the bathroom. I took a long, hot shower only to meet a very irritated looking Ron once I headed downstairs. 

"Finally I'm soooo hungry!" he complained while Harry and Hermione rolled their eyes. I chuckled to myself before heading to the great hall. After a much needed breakfast we headed to our new subject, 'divination'. The classroom looked halfway between an attic and a tea shop. 

The teacher was rather  _odd._ She was dressed in what looked like an old quilt blanket, and had glasses that made her eyes look enormous. Today we were supposed be reading each other's Tea cups, but we all fail. She was coming around making us feel uneasy. She said some bullshit about the grim in Harry's cup. She then came to mine and picked it up and jumped and immediately out it down. She was looking at me terrified.

"You are  _his..._ " she whispered. 

"Really?" I said sarcastically. 

"Spawn of evil..." she muttered. Gasps went round the room. Harry looked uncomfortable and Hermione was about to burst out laughing, clearly not knowing the truth. 

"And I was beginning to think you were a fraud!"I laughed. Harry put his arm around me while I glare at her. People were giving me uneasy looks... so I turned to the class.

"My  _father_  was a follower of the Dark Lord. He is dead so that doesn't really matter. And my mother had nothing to do with that stuff. I will not follow his footsteps, so don't judge," I said glaring. Everyone in every house but Slytherin, who looked surprised, sighed in relief. I guess it was a half lie, but enough to get people off my back. After Divination we had Care of Magical Creatures, taught by Hagrid. 

We headed down to a clearing, where what looked like a hippogriff. We gathered around the edge, while everyone attempted to open their books. But Harry and Malfoy found themselves in a fight.

"D-d-dementor dementor!" screamed Malfoy. Everyone but myself fell for it. He and his goons pulled up their hoods and waved their hands in a scary motion. 

"What's wrong Snow? Did I hit a sensitive spot?" he said trying to taunt me.

"Shut up Malfoy," said Harry, deadly calm. 

"Oh yeh? Make me." Harry was about to lunge for Malfoy, when I grabbed him and pulled him back. 

"My father will be hearing about this violence, Potter. You should learn to respect your superiors, both of you."

Harry was about to reply when I cut in. 

"Your father would take one look at me, know exactly who I am, and practically worship me. He would actually be quite terrified to be in my presence. My father wasn't exactly the nicest person," Harry chuckled. Malfoy looked confused, but then smugly replied, 

"My father was a deatheater too... doesn't make you more superior!" 

"Oh, my father wasn't just a deatheater..." I turned around, making my hair wack his face. The Gryffindors looked gobsmacked, apart from Harry, who was hysterical laughing on the ground. The lesson ended up being very interesting, Harry and I got to ride buckbeak until Malfoy decided to be a prat and got himself hurt.

Last class of the day was DADA, and I was looking forward to it. We went into class to find all the chairs moved to the side and a cupboard in the centre of the room, a Boggart. 

"Can anybody tell me what this is?" my hand shot up.

"A Boggart," I said immediately.

"Correct Miss -"

"Snow." He looked shocked, looked more closely at me and sighed. 

"Your Issy's daughter..." he said more of a statement then question. Then I remembered  _Remus Lupin_ from the letter from my mother. 

"Is your name Remus?" The class looked confused at our exchange. 

"Yes."

"My mother wrote about you a letter before she died, apparently you were friends," I said. He nodded and continued on with the class.

"Right, on with the lesson," he said breaking the tension. He taught us the incantation and told us too line up. I got behind Harry. When it was his turn it transformed into a dementor, I immediately shoved him out of the way and waited for the Boggart to transform. And right there, in front of my eyes, like the picture in the trophy room. Was my  _father._

"Hello sweetheart, my we look like twins. What do you think I'm going to do? Kill you? No no no, I wouldn't kill my daughter. Just every single person you love..." he said smirking. Then pop, dead Harry at his feet. Lupin jumped in front of me and put the Boggart back into the wardrobe. I was still processing what just happened, frozen to the spot. Harry came up and engulfed me in a hug, I started crying. The whole class was watching in silence, I looked up to see Malfoy pale. I guess he knew who that was, but it didn't seem like it. Everyone left the class in silence. Harry carried me back to the common room and put me on his lap. We started snogging until we heard the portrait open, in came a bickering pair of students we knew too well. They were yet again fighting about their pets. Seriously, they just need to kiss and make up. I started drifting off and fell into a blissful sleep still in Harry's arms. 

The next day was Hogsmede, unfortunately a downside of having dead (or half dead) parents. Harry and I couldn't get our permission slips signed, so while everyone was excited we were quite down. That was until Harry decided that we should spend some time alone. He took me down to the lake, where we sat and chatted for hours. I looked out at the magnificent view of the castle, the lake was reflecting the forest with twinkles of light and the turrets danced with the sunset. 

"Don't you wish we could be in this moment forever?" I ask him. 

"As long as your in it," he grinned. Cheesy yet ridiculously sweet. He leant over a kissed me, then we got carried away and suddenly I'm on top of him snogging when we heard a long, nasally voice. 

"5 points from Gryffindor for PDA," Snape said smirking. We stopped snogging and glared at him. Way to ruin the moment Snape...


	13. 12 - The Black Truth

I was walking through a corridor alone, it was after curfew but I had to leave my dormitory, I needed some fresh air. I had my wand out in front of me, guiding the way. The paintings were staring and grumbling at me, annoyed they had been woken from their sleep. The shadows seemed to jump out at me, warning me of something. I pull out the Marauders Map, which Harry had been given. I saw my name on the map, but I also saw one just around the corner from me,  _Peter Pettigrew._ It didn't exactly make sense to me, he was dead, but I got curious and found myself face to face with  _nothing._ The only thing I could see was a rat on the floor in the place of the name on the map. But then I realised,  _animagus._

"Hello Peter, thought you could hide from me, did you?" I chuckled darkly. He scattered away, but I blocked his path. Before I knew what was happening, suddenly the rat started morphing into a human with something metal in his hand, which he knocked me over the head with, and that was the last I remembered before blacking out

*

All I saw was blackness. I heard voices come and go, but I couldn't tell what they're saying. I can always understand one voice though. It's always there. Harry.

I tried to wake but I couldn't. He told me the truth about Black, once he had worked it out. Apparently he had a large confrontation with him and  _Wormtail,_ which was the nickname for Pettigrew. He kept insisting he stayed with me, because he knew I would wake up, but time passed and on the last day he started panicking. He was holding my hand and I think I heard sobs. I put all my effort into trying to squeeze his hand, although it was only small, I could tell he felt it. I tried opening my eyes and this time I was actually successful only to shut them straight after having met a blinding white light. I squinted and everything slowly became clear. I turned my head to see Harry resting his head on the edge of the bed while grasping my hand.

"H-harry..." I croaked. He looked up in disbelief, like he was dreaming. 

"Em?" he said in a questioning tone.

"Yeah?"

"Who did this?" he said furiously. 

"Pettigrew," I said, and his face turned furious. 

"Trust me when I get my hands on him -"

"Harry, it's fine..." I said. He looked at me like I was crazy. 

"What! No it's -"

"My  _father_  will punish him plenty," I said. Harry had a look of realisation, then grimaced. 

"Yeh, I could imagine what he'd do..." he said, his lips turning into a thin line. I could imagine nothing less than torture, if my father actually cared about my wellbeing.

"I heard you. I know what's happened with Black being innocent and everything..." I said sadly,

"Yeh, and Ron offered - if you had woken up - for us to stay at his place this summer!" he said excitedly. My face lit up like a Christmas tree; I'd heard great stories about Ron's house. I nodded enthusiastically in agreement and looked around the hospital wing. 

"When can I get out of here?" I asked. 

"Madam Pomphrey said you won't be able to walk for a while..." he said dismally.

"You could carry me!" I suggested. He grinned and nodded. I magically changed my clothes and sat up, with a bit of difficulty. Harry turned around and bent down so I could get on his back. I hopped on and he walked us to the hall. It was the middle of breakfast, and the doors to the hall were closed. Harry pushed them open and all eyes fell on me. After a long silence, the hall erupted in cheers. The Weasleys and Hermione ran over, all carefully hugging me. I chuckled at their reactions and Harry helped me down. I ate a well needed meal and had a cheerful catch-up with everyone. Once we headed up to the dorms (with Harry's help) and packed my belongings, we headed to the train station.We got the train at 11 o'clock and headed back home. Well not really home, I don't really have another home than Hogwarts.

"Now that I remember Emma," said Ron, "I remember Sirius and Lupin talking about something to do with your mother. Something about you too." I snapped my head towards him in sudden interest.

"Yes, apparently Sirius knew your mother too," said Harry. 

"Is he... you know... your father?" asked Hermione curiously.

"No, defiantly not..." I said. I understood where she was coming from however, me saying my father was a Deatheater, but I had insisted he was dead. I stared out the window of the compartment, lost in my thoughts. The clouds were powder pink as dusk approached. I don't know if it was just a gut feeling, but I had a funny feeling a lot of things were going to change next year, for the worse.

 


	14. 13 - Quidditch World Cup

This summer was amazing. The burrow was full of life and we spent our time playing quidditch (on my nice broom) and swimming in the pond. It was drawing towards the end of the holidays when we were told there was a surprise coming up. We were woken at 4am for some annoying reason, and told to 'hurry up and get ready'. I packed a few things in my rucksack and stuffed my wand in my boot. For  _some_ reason, we had to climb an enormous hill, and halfway up I started whining. 

"It's  _sooo_ hard!" I groaned. 

"Yeh, yeh, yeh stop whining!" said Ron. 

"Well if you give me a piggy back you'll be the best friend in the world!" I said begging. 

"Fine," he grumbled. I laughed at that and jumped on.

We reached the top of the hill when someone jumped down from a tree, making Mione and Ginny giggle. I peeked over Ron's shoulder to see the second hottest boy I have ever seen. He looked around and his eyes land on me and he immediately started flirting with me.

"Hi my names Cedric," he said, sending me a secret wink.

"I'm taken, lover boy," I said smirking. I jump of Ron's shoulders and give Harry a peck, much to Cedric's displeasure. He then turns his attention to the twins who he seems to know and starts walking up with them. Ginny and Mione kept giggling like idiots, and Harry kept taking worried glances at me and then Cedric. I walk over to him and he puts a hand around my waist and whispered, "mine," in my ear. I giggle at his jealousy and give him a peck.

Once we reached the top of the hill, we all crowded around some old boot at the top of the hill. We all grabbed on and suddenly it felt like we were in a tornado. 

"Let go kids!" shouted Mr. Weasley.

We plummeted to the group and I landed on someone. I looked to see me on top of Harry. 

"I know, I'm irresistible!" he said smirking. I laugh and we proceed to kiss, until Ron starts gagging, 

"Get a bloody room!" he said disgusted. We laughed and hop off each other and walked up to the entrance of a campsite - WOW! 

"Welcome kids, to the Qudditch World Cup!" 

We found our tent and left our belongings in it and then took a look around. I was walking through the Bulgarian area, as a fluent speaker and had Bulgarian friends I was supporting them, when I bumped into someone. 

"Emma?" he asked shocked. 

"Victor!" I give him an enormous hug. Victor and I met a year before I started Hogwarts, at a park in Central London. I was on an orphanage field trip and he was doing some sporting event with some of his friends. Even then, he had girls gawking at him. That inspired me to learn Bulgarian and to the day he calls me his 'malka sestra' (little sister). ( _Italics is in Bulgarian)_

" _Your a witch/wizard_!" we exclaim. We laugh at our synchronisation and catch up with each other. Currently he is single, and was asking if I have any hot friends. I told him he'd have to see himself. He didn't like the idea of me having a boyfriend, and said he would like a 'chat' with him. Damn I'm so scared for Harry, Viktor can be very scary... Turns out he was the best seeker in the world! I told him to find me when game was finished. He agreed and said he had to go for warm up. I walked back to the camp when I saw Harry, Ron and Mione surrounding a  _very_ Irish tent. I walked over to them and there was Seamus Finnegan and his mother, along with Dean. 

"Like the decorations?" said Seamus. I scrunched my nose at the Irish colours. "The ministry's not too happy." 

"Ah, why shouldn't we show our colours?" said Mrs Finnigan. "You'll be supporting Ireland, of course?" she added eyeing us beadily. The other three nodded their headeds eagerly while I frowned. She looked at me accusingly. 

"Why aren't you supporting us! We are right next door to England!" 

"I'm have Bulgarian friends." She clearly didn't believe it.

"Oh, really? Probably just cause of Krum isn't it! Drooling over him like he's a pretty doll are you?" Bulgarians turned their heads, clearly annoyed with the insult.

" _Oh really? And don't bring my friends into this! Viktor is an amazing seeker and your just jealous you don't have him on your team!"_ I got whistles and cheers from passing Bulgarians and everyone clapped. Mrs Finnigan was confused and furious at the same time. Harry, Ron and Hermione were looking at me wide eyed. 

"You speak Bulgarian?" said Hermione breaking the silence. 

"Yes, clearly! I have Bulgarian friends," I said. They nodded their heads and we headed back to the tent. 

The stairs to the top box took forever to climb. When we finally got the the top we had an amazing view! 

"You can see everything from here!" exclaimed Ron. 

"Let's just say if it rains, you'll be the firsts to know," I heard a drawling voice. I looked down the flight of stairs to see Malfoy senior sneering up at us. I pushed to the back in fear of recognition and hid behind Harry. 

"Well well well, what do we have here. The Weasleys, scarhead and mudblood. These seats must have cost you a fortune! We got invitations from the Minister of Magic himself!" said Malfoy Jr boastfully. 

"What's the point in being disloyal to your blood, when they're not even paying you well for it," said Mr. Malfoy slyly. 

"We have much different opinions on what is disloyalty, Malfoy," replied Mr. Weasley.

"Disloyal bloodtraitors..." muttered Mr. Malfoy.

"You would know all about disloyalty wouldn't you now Malfoy. You haven't been very loyal to the mark on your left wrist..." I said in an ice-cold voice, smirking. I had read alot about the Dark Mark and how it was on every deatheaters left wrist. Mr and Mrs Malfoy took one look at me and their faces turned to shock. They just stared at me wide eyed and root the the spot, Mrs Malfoy's mouth fell open. 

"Close your mouth you might catch flies. Don't worry about the loyalty thing, I won't tell Daddy dearest. Let's just say I'm not on good terms with him, but the doesn't mean he doesn't love me..." I said smirking. She snaps her mouth close and drags Lucius away to talk to him. Draco just stands there confused and narrows his eyes at me. 

"I told you they'd be scared!"  I said smirking. He just hurried away to his parents and I turned back to the Weasleys, who looked gobsmacked. 

"I have  _never_ seen Lucius act like that!" exclaimed Mr. Weasley. 

"He was scared, he should be," I said smirking. 

The box filled gradually around us over the next half hour. Mr Weasley kept shaking hands with people who were obviously very important wizards. When Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic himself, arrived, he greeted Harry like and old friend, much to Percy's jealousy. 

"Harry Potter, you know," he loudly told the Bulgarian Minister, who was wearing splendid robes of black velvet trimmed with gold, and didn't seem to understand a word of English. " _Harry Potter..._ oh, come on now, you know who he is -"

" _Khari potur. The boy who lived,"_ I said rolling my eyes. He gasped and pointed to his forehead. 

 _"Oh, well he didn't translate that very well! You Bulgarian?"_ asked the Bulgarian Minister to myself.

_"No, but I have Bulgarian friends."_

_"Friends anyone I would know?"_

_"Yeh, Victor Krum. He said he'd let me fly after 'he caught the snitch'. Cocky that one!"_

_"Victor! Never would of thought!"_ he said before excusing himself to speak to some Bulgarian friends. 

"And who might you be? You'd be a great ministry diplomat!" said Mr Fudge.

"Emma Snow." 

"Nice to meet you Miss Snow. Any relation to Isabelle Snow?" I chuckled sarcastically,  _always the same question_. 

"She was my mother!" I said bored, but he looked gobsmacked. 

"She was an amazing witch! What happened? She sort of disappeared!" he said confused.

"Died in childbirth." 

"Oh, very sorry to hear that! How do you know Harry here?" he said.

"Oh, he's my boyfriend..." I said blushing. Mr Fudge turned to Harry, 

"She's a keeper! Got to go know, games about to start!" he hurried off to Ludo Bagman. We sat at the front of the box and stared over the side. Unlike some who seemed to be scared of heights.

"Ladies and gentleman... welcome! Welcome to the final of yeh four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!" announced Ludo Bagman. The spectators screamed and clapped, excited for the match to start.

"And now, ladies and gentleman, kindly welcome - the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team! I give you - anyone know how to say these names?" the crowd laughed. I raced up to Bagman and took the megaphone. 

" _Dimitrov! Ivanova! Zograf! Levski! Vulchanov! Volkov! And.... Krum!"_ I said screaming.The crowd burst into cheers.

"That's him, that's him!" yelled Ron, clearly starstruck. 

The game was over very quickly, as though it had only been 40 minutes. The scoreboard flashed BULGARIA: 300 IRELAND:  170 (A/N I know in the book Ireland win but this is my fanfiction)

"KRUM GETS THE SNITCH, BULGARIA WIN!" screams Bagman. The rest of our group sigh in defeat while I'm jumping for joy. Then the Bulgarian crowd starts singing and I join in. 

" _We are Bulgaria, we can't be beat, we have the power, to knock you of your feet! 2,4,6,8, who do we appreciate? No minister, no king, The Bulgarian National Quidditch Team!"_

Me and the Bulgarian Minister were getting quite a lot of angry stares from the Irish supporters in our box, even if they couldn't understand what we were saying. Harry was just grinning ear to ear watching me. The Bulgarian team was taking victory laps when Vik split up from them and flew up to the top box. 

" _Emma!_   _Where's your hot friend?_ " he said. I laughed and pointed to Hermione and Viktor's grin widened. He went and kissed her hand, whispering something in her ear. She started blushing, nodded her head and flew back to the rest of the team. Ron was looking at me in disbelief.

"You never said you knew Krum!"


	15. 14 - Juniors

We were all celebrating back at the tent, even though Ireland lost. Viktor said he'd see me very soon, but wouldn't tell me why. We heard a bang from outside, 

"Sounds like you Bulgarians are having some fun!" shouted Fred to me. 

"It's not the Bulgarians! Grab your wands, get back to the port key and stay together!" said Mr Weasley running in. We rushed outside and ran for the woods. The tents were burning and muggle-borns were being tortured by people dressed in black robes. I was running with Harry when we got split up. I kept running when I tripped over and someone's foot hit my head and all went black.   
  
  


 *  
  
  


I woke up with a bad headache and a sore foot. My eyes fluttered open to see an odd looking man standing over me. He was wearing shabby black robes and was licking his lips like a snake. He bend down and gave me a drink of water. He looked incredibly dodgy, but trusting at the same time.

"Who is your father?" he asked nicely. 

"Um... are you a deatheater?" I asked curiously. He nodded and pulled his sleeve up, showing the mark on his arm.

"I'll ask again, who is your father?" he said getting irritated. 

"The Dark Lord," I said in a bored tone, hiding my true feelings.

"Who else knows about you?" he asked curiously, and slightly  _hurt_. Like he expected to have been told. 

"Uh, Him, the Malfoys, Dumbledore, Harry, Hagrid and I think some older teachers suspect it. And you now."

"What was that all about tonight?" I asked confused at my surroundings.

"That  _wasn't_  planned by your father, Malfoy perhaps. Only that rat and I know where he is. But those bloody cowards ran when I cast the mark." 

"Why did they run? They're supposed to be deatheaters..." I reply, trying to make it look like I'm on his side. 

"They're not real faithful deatheaters, just wanted some muggle torture... I'll have a little chat with master about that!" he said seething. It was then we heard, 

"Harry! Emma!" echoing across the grounds. I turn to him, 

"Go, you don't have much time, I'll cover for you," he nodded an ran. I stood up and limped on my sore foot towards the voices. I ducked as spells collided over my head. Barty Crouch came running over to me wand pointed. I saw the unknown deatheater hiding and watching me in the trees. 

"You have been discovered at the scene of a crime!" he shouted at me. I played dumb and looked confused. 

"I just woke up from being knocked out! Do you mind? I'm trying to find my friends and my foot really hurts!" I said innocently. He looked at me suspiciously, like I was lying. 

"Did you see anything?" 

"A man said a spell and that thing," I pointed at the Dark Mark, "appeared in the sky!" 

"Where did he go!" he said frantically.

"That way," I said pointing in the opposite direction of the deatheater. Once they were gone I smiled at the deatheater as he appearated. 

*

The Daily Prophet the next day was crazy.  _SCENES OF TERROR AT THE QUDDITCH WORLD CUP_ , was the title, complete with a twinkling, black-and-white photograph of the dark mark over the tree tops. There were some quite interesting articles published aswell.  _Ministry blunders... culprits not apprehended... lax security... Dark wizards running unchecked... national disgrace._ All written by Rita Skeeter. The train ride to Hogwarts was quite quiet. We all slept most of the way. It wasn't until Harry woke up from a nightmare that I started worrying.

"It's your scar again isn't it..." I asked. He nodded worrying and stared out the window, like something was watching him. We looked over to see Hermione sleeping on Ron's shoulder while Ron slept against the window. Harry and I shared a looked and started giggling, those two would make the cutest couple they just don't know that they like each other back. We shared a kiss, which kinda turned into a snog, which got quite heated, until we were interrupted by a snarling voice, 

"Your burning my eyes with that horrific sight..." This woke Mione and Ron up. I glared at Malfoy, who was standing smugly in the doorway and replied,

"Did your Daddy tell you who I was?" I said like I was talking to a baby. He looked at me wide eyed, "I'll take that as a yes, and if you tell anyone... it might just be your last words. And knowing my father, he doesn't hesitate to kill..." I said smirking. That made him scurry off, his tail between his legs.   
  
  


*  
  
  


"Who's the new DADA teacher?" said Hermione, who was looking up at the teachers table. We hadn't had one that lasted more than one year, and were eager to see if this one would survive. Our questions were answered when Mad-eye Moody came limping through the door. 

"May I introduce our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Moody." The hall was silent apart from the claps from Dumbledore and Hagrid, everyone was to shocked. 

"Hogwarts has been chosen to host an legendary event.  _The Triwizard Tournament_ , and for those of you who do not know, the Triwizard tournament brings together three schools for a series of magical contests. From each school a single student is selected to compete. It will start in October. Now let me be clear, if chosen, you stand  _alone_. And trust me when I say, these contests are not for the feint hearted, but more of that later. Please join me in welcoming, the lovely ladies, of the Beaubatons academy of Magic! And their headmistress, Madam Maxine!" They walked in and - great,  _veelas._  
The boys were jumping in their seats trying to see the girls, all of which were blonde and curvy. I rolled my eyes and looked at Harry, who instead of being in a veela trance, was looking directly at me. Then I remembered,  _If a man is not entranced by Veelas, he is deeply in love with someone else._  
I blushed majorly and gave Harry a peck, he grinned and pulled me closer. Once the girls were 'done', Dumbledore got our attention again.

"And now our friends from the north, please greet our proud sons of Drumstrang, and their headmaster Igor Karkarof!"

In walked  _Bulgarian_ boys. They were banging sticks and throwing tricks, and playing with fire when I saw a face I could recognise in my sleep.  _Viktor._ All the girls were giggling, he just kept a straight face but smiled at me making all the girls throw jealous looks at me and he continued walking down the aisle. I glared at him and huffed, he didn't tell me! The food appeared but I didn't touch it, instead I walked over to the Slytherin table where the Drumstrang were sitting. I'd have to have a chat with him later...


	16. 15 - Mad-eye & Secrets

The storm had blown itself out by the following morning, though the ceiling in the great hall was still gloomy; heavy clouds of pewter grey swirled overhead as we examined our new timetables at breakfast.

"Today's not bad... outside all morning," said Ron, who was running his finger down his timetable, "Herbology with Hufflepuffs, Care of Magical Creatures and DADA... damn it, we're still with the Slytherins..."

"Double Divination this afternoon," Harry groaned, looking down. I couldn't blame him, that idiot kept predicting Harry's death.

It wasn't until dinner that things got interesting. Malfoy was arguing with Harry and Ron, it was amusing until I got bored.

"Can you please just shut up Malfoy!" I shouted bringing all the attention to us.

"No one asked your opinion, you filthy little bloodtraitor!" he spat making people gasp. I froze I turned to him and smirked, I twirled my wand in my fingers.

"People who mess with me get punished, Malfoy. You know, your hair makes you look like a ferret," I said. When I said the word he magically turned into a ferret. The entire entrance hall burst into laughter, I bounced him around, making him fly up Crabbe and Goyles pants. Everyone was hysterical as I tossed him around until I turned him back and threw him with wind against the wall. The hall fell silent as I approached him I put my wand to his neck as he shrunk back in fear.

"Never, I repeat never, mess with me. It doesn't end very well for anyone," I said in a deathly cold voice. It was probably more terrifying than screaming at him.

"My father will be hearing -" he shouted.

"Your father is TERRIFIED of me! I'm just a living reminder of my father to him, he'd cower back in fear in front of me just like he did to my father. I assume this incident will get back to your father, and he won't tell you off for losing to me. No, he'll tell you off for insulting me in the first place. Just because I picked my side, doesn't mean your father doesn't respect me. My father was too much to him..." I say smirking as Harry is the only one laughing in the room, everyone looked quite terrified. The Viktor walked out of the crowd and over to Draco, who was slumped on the floor against the wall.

"Get back to your knitting!" screamed George, who I smiled thankfully at.

 

*

 

After the incident with Malfoy, I seemed to be the subject of the school. And that seemed to reach the DADA classroom. We entered the class and sat in the middle, interested to see how this would play out. And after that class, I knew something was up. That didn't seem much like the famous Auror Moody. Unforgivable curses were not supposed to be shown until 6th year, and even then it never got that harsh. I was disturbed to how Dumbledore would possibly let someone like that teach at the school. The look on Neville's face was the most disturbing, it looked like the life had been drained out of him.

At lunch I had lost my appetite, so I went for an explore. I somehow found myself in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, where Harry had told me the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets was. I whispered in parseltounge to the sink, which took me by surprise as the sink dropped down quite suddenly. I slid down the pipe and landed in a pile of animal bones, that looked hundred of years old. I walked through a pipe and found a clearing where rocks had fallen from the roof. I dodged my way through the rocks until I came face to face with a door locked by serpents, that looked almost alive. I hissed at the door, hoping it would open. To my satisfaction, it did and I was given the shock of my life.

The most beautiful sculptures of snakes lined the walls of the chamber, with a black tiled pathway down the middle, at the very end a great stone sculpture of who I assume was Salazar Slytherin. But what shocked me most, was a huge snake skeleton laying below it. It was the same snake that looked at me with it's cold, bright yellow eyes two years ago. I approached the skeleton, hearing the small splashes of the puddles underneath my feet. I was glad I changed before, I wouldn't feel very at home standing in Gryffindor robes down there. I yanked a basilisk tooth out of it's enormous jaw, putting it in my jumper's pocket. Maybe it would come in handy one day.

I headed back out of the stunning chamber, and climbed the ladder back up the pipe. I magically dried my clothes and headed back to the common room. When I got back, people were studying and playing chess by the fire, none of them noticing my disappearance. It was like I never left...


	17. 16 - The Other Champion

It was Halloween and we were all waiting for the announcement of the Triwizard Tournament Champions. We were all sitting excitedly in the hall, waiting to see who was picked. I was worried because I just  _knew_ that Viktor would be the Drumstrang champion, as much as I didn't want him to be. I want our champion to be Angelina but I had a feeling it would be 'flirty Diggory', as he seemed quite the type. We were all in a deep conversation about who was going to be chosen, when suddenly Dumbledore waved his wand and the lights died down. The hall went silent as the cup began to roar with flames, a single piece of parchment shot out from the cup and landed in Dumbledore's hand. 

"The champion of Beauxbatons is... Fleur Delacour!" We all politely clapped as she skipped through the doors to the side chamber, sending flirtatious winks at all the drooling boys. We all went quiet again, as the second piece of parchment spit out of the fire. 

"And the champion of Drumstrang is... Viktor Krum! _"_ he shouted.. I stand up and clap enthusiastically even though deep down I feared his safety. He strutted forward into the chamber and the hall feel into dead silence as the tension rose, anxious to see who would be chosen. 

"And the Hogwarts champion is... Cedric Diggory!" he shouted, and the hall around me seemed to burst into cheers. I clapped politely but was disappointed; Angelina would have been so much better. For some reason everyone went silent; I then knew why. For some reason the cup had started flaming again. A piece of parchment flew down into Dumbledore's quivering hand,

_"Harry Potter."_

I sat there speechless. I turned and saw Harry frozen and confused. I jumped out of my daze and whispered in his ear. 

"I know you didn't put your name in. Don't worry we'll figure this out," I said comforting him. He slowly rose from his seat and walked up to the front, while jealous students shouted about him being a cheat. He entered the chamber and everyone started heading back to the common room, all rather silent. I looked over at Hermione and Ron, worried about what their reactions would be. Hermione looked like she didn't know what to think, and Ron's face held pure jealousy.  _How could he think about himself in a situation like this._

"You knew something about this didn't you!" he said accusingly, "your just as bad as him!" he said raising his voice. 

"Leave, her, alone." I turned around to see a seething Harry, glaring daggers at him. Ron stalked away, dragging Hermione behind him. Harry came over and pulled me into a hug, kissing my forehead.

"He had no right to talk to you like that!" he says angrily. 

"It's fine. He's just jealous about something he  _certainly_  shouldn't be jealous about," I said calmly.

                          *

I woke up in an unfamiliar room in someone's embrace. I opened my eyes to see Harry without his glasses off, his hair ruffled and his mouth slightly open. I giggled at the sight, making him stir. He opened his eyes and looked at his surroundings, which I then noticed was his dorm. I yawned loudly and jumped out of the bed. I was still in my robes but my shoes and cloak had been removed. I raised my eyebrows at him and he blushed. I giggled, he must have taken them off after I dozed of in the common room. He sat up and pulled me onto his lap, crashing his lips to mine, which turned into a slightly heated make out session, until Ron interrupted. 

"No going in other gender's dorms!" he said gagging. I glared at him, raising my eyebrows,

"Just cause you can't get in Hermione's pants," I said smirking. He stalked out of the room and slammed the door. I shared a look with Harry and we started giggling to ourselves. 

After we had changed we headed down to breakfast, where Harry got some dirty looks. I just glared at anyone who dared speak to him. We lied low the whole day, trying to avoid the attention. It wasn't until we were in potions class, that something actually happen. Some 3rd year stormed in, out of breath from what looked like a long run. Snape gave him a bone chilling glare, before raising his eyebrows for an explanation.

"I-I'm sorry sir," he said panting, "Miss. Skeeter requested Harry Potter for the champions interview... oh and Emma Snow." Harry and I looked at each other confused,  _why would someone want to talk to me?_

My questions were answered when we arrived. A short, blonde lady with grandma's glasses and a dress an odd shade of green, was prancing around the room, shouting things at every person she passed. She was surrounded by photographers, who she was helping position for the champion's photo. Once she realised we were there, she grabbed Harry and shoved him in the front. I just stood there, still wondering what the point in me being there was. She took people into the broom closet for interviews, which was rather disturbing if you think about it. After speaking with some of the champions, she came over and shoved me into the closet. 

"So, do you mind if I use a Quick Quotes Quill?" she drawled.

"Yes I do mind. I will not have an articles of lies written about me," I said coldly. She looked taken aback and switched quills, rather reluctantly. 

" _So,_ how did you help Harry get into the tournament?" she said smirking. 

"I didn't. He didn't enter himself, someone entered him. It doesn't take a genius to know a shocked face from one that's not shocked."

"Do you have a taste in famous boys? My you are a gold digger! Potter  _and_ Krum!" she said accusingly. 

"EW! Victor's just a friend you idiot!" 

"So how did you meet?" she said curiously.

"Viktor or Harry?" I said confused.

"Krum..." she drawled, in a somewhat seducing way.

"In a park in London. That's how I speak Bulgarian..." I said.

" _So,_ how long have you and Harry been together?" she said wiggling her eyebrows. 

"Since the end of 2nd year..." I said annoyed.  _Isn't this supposed to be about the tournament?_

"So, about your  _parents?"_ she squeaked, making me flinch, "Rumour has it, your mother was  _Isabelle Merlin Snow?"_

"Um, yeh..." I said, trying avoid the dreaded question. 

" _Now,_ more interestingly," she said smirking, "who is your father?" 

I gave her a long, ice cold glare, enough to make her shiver in fear, before storming out of the closet and heading back to the common room.


	18. 17 - Rita Skeeter

It was Saturday, Harry and I were having a perfectly good breakfast until the mail came.   
The owls flooded into the hall and a copy of the Daily Prophet dropped onto Harry's plate. He took one look at the front page and his face turned furious. He handed it to me and I immediately had the same reaction.

_The Truth About the 4th Champion_

_Two nights ago at the announcement of the Triwizard Champions, Harry Potter's name came out as a fourth champion! After many interviews we have come to the conclusion that Emma Snow, Harry's beloved girlfriend helped him enter. Emma herself is a mystery, claiming to be the daughter of Isabelle Merlin Snow who went missing many years ago. Father unknown... yet she seemed to know after rudely storming out on my attractive self. Rumour has it he was a death eater! Miss Pansy Parkinson states, "She claims to be the daughter of a deatheater but I bet you it's a big fat lie. She was dumped in an orphanage where she belongs!" but others, such as Mr Neville Longbottom claim, "You should've seen Malfoy's face when she mentioned her father! He was so scared. "What is the truth, what is a lie? If he was a death eater, did she use dark magic to enter Harry's name for him?_

_Rita Skeeter_

I was fuming,  _how dare she!_ Dark Magic to enter Harry's name? Not to mention Pug-face Parkinson! I looked up to see Harry putting a hand on mine, trying to calm me down. We spent the morning down at the lake... time always stops down here, like nothing bad has ever happened, but when we leave reality steps in and life goes on. We were walking by the forest when we found a tree with tonnes of initials in hearts carved into the tree, along with photos stuck on. I ran my finger around it when I stopped at a photo I recognised.

_JP + LE_

Above it there was the same photo Harry has in his room. A girl with long red hair and bright green eyes dancing with a boy who looked exactly like Harry but had chocolate brown eyes. I hadn't noticed till then that Harry had walked up behind me. I turned to see tears in his eyes threatening to spill, I engulfed him in a hug and looked up the tree. There was a little sparrow staring down at me, it's small eyes staring into my soul. I took out my wand and carved into the tree below:

_ER + HP_

"Aren't your initials  _ES?"_ he said confused.

"My real names Emma Tom Riddle," I said smiling weakly. He nodded in understanding, and kissed my forehead. We turned away from the tree and headed back up to the castle, back to reality.  
  
  


                         *  
  
  


"The first task is dragons!" said Harry, as he entered the common room. My face paled,  _dragons?_

"Shit," I said bluntly. He sat down beside me on the sofa in front of the fire, putting his arms around my waist.

"Yeh. Hagrid showed me, they're keeping them in the forbidden forest! There's one in particular that looks nasty; the  _Hungarian_  something..." I snapped my head towards him in worry.

"The  _Hungarian Horntail?"_ I said shocked. He nodded and I turned my head to the fire in worry. That breed of dragon is particularly dangerous, I can't believe they would allow something like that in the competition. My attention was then stolen by I copy of today's daily prophet, which had a photo of Rita Skeeter with that smug, satisfied face she makes when she changes information to make people look bad. I scanned over the article in distaste but almost chocked on my pumpkin juice when I read one particular line, _'His eyes swimming with the ghosts of his past...'_

Saying I was disgusted was an understatement. Not only was it untrue, but this woman had clearly not taken any grammatical lessons, as most of the article was written incorrectly. She would have been fired in the muggle world.

"Has Ron finally got his act together?" I said annoyed. He had only been getting ruder these last few weeks, proving him to be more and more jealous as every day went by. 

"No," he spat bitterly. Harry felt betrayed, I did too. 

"Don't worry he will, and we all know Hermione's only on his side cause she likes him," I said smirking. He laughed gave me a peck on the cheek, before standing up.

"Well good luck tomorrow, I'm going to bed."

"Love you," I said sincerely. 

"Love you more," he replied as I walked up to my dorm of unwelcoming, immature girls.


	19. 18 - The First Task

I dreaded waking up that morning. It was the day of the First Task and Harry wass supposed to fight a dragon, with no clue about what he was doing. For once I didn't concentrate in class, I was almost shaking in my seat at my boyfriend's impending death. I almost ran out when we were all dismissed from Charms. Harry had the morning off so I was all alone in class, with people staring at me like I was the devil. Once I got down to the stadium, I headed down to the back of the champion's tent and saw the shadows of people inside. I look for one that looked like Harry, and found it next to the canvas tent's wall.

"Psst Harry! Is that you?" I whispered.

"Yeh," he replied worriedly

"The key is to concentrate, after that you just have to..." 

" _Battle a dragon_ ," he finished. I let out a sob and slipped through the slip and gave Harry a long kiss. That was until we heard a few clicks and pulled away shocked. We turned to see Rita Skeeter standing in front of us, looking like she won the lottery.

"Young love, how  _stirring,"_ she giggled unpleasantly. "If everything goes  _unfortunately_ today, you two might make the front page!" she exclaimed.

"This tent is for champions, and friendz," said an annoyed looking Viktor from behind her. She turned around and changed her expression very quickly.

"Very well, we got what we wanted!" she said while her annoying quill stroked Victor's cheek; she clearly trying to flirt with him. He just gave a disgusted look at her as she exited the tent. I then walked over and gave him a big bear hug. 

 _"Don't die on me today,"_ I muttered. 

_"No need to worry, I'll be fine."_

I gave him an unsure look and headed back over to Harry. I gave him a long kiss before ducking back out of the tent to the stands.  
  
  


                          *  
  
  


It was almost Harry's turn. Victor had done well, but he had a plan. I don't even know what Harry's plan is! He just said Moody helped him,  _I don't trust Moody_. I don't have a good feeling about him, like  _there isn't all that meets the eye,_ no pun intended.

My thoughts were interrupted by the large boom of the canon, making my heart race. I could see Harry entering the arena from the other side, but he could not see the deadly dragon lurking around the corner. He spotted the egg and started heading for it, but the Horntail smashed it tail against the rock only meters from him. I screamed in fright as he jumped behind a rock, narrowly escaping it's fiery breath.

"You wand Harry, your wand!" shouted Hermione, who was seated on the other side. He seemed to have heard her, because pulled it out and muttered a spell, but nothing seemed to have happened. My heart almost stopped when he ran for the egg again, but this time the fire hit his arm, making me scream in horror. But suddenly, Harry's Firebolt came zooming into the arena.  _He used the summoning charm._ He jumped on and flew out of reach of the Dragon. But the dragon soon broke it's chains and flew after him. They flew away from the arena and everyone went quiet. I started sobbing, only to find  _Ron_ giving me a hug.  _You finally come around when your best friend is most likely dead?_ I shoved him off and he backed away in hurt. Suddenly, we all heard something flying up behind us and turned our heads to see Harry on a broom flying into the arena with no dragon behind him. He dived down and caught the egg, making the arena erupt in cheers. The cheers even found their way back to the common room many hours later.

"Who wants me to open it?" said Harry, who was hoisted up on Fred and George's shoulders. The crowd cheered in agreement and he took the clip off and everyone in the room hunched over, covering their ears for some reason, but I just heard a beautiful singing voice. He closed it up and we all looked at it confused,  _what sort of clue was that?_  He seemed to have made up with Ron, but I wouldn't budge.  _I do not forgive that easily._

My thoughts then wandered to the egg. Why could _I_  hear singing while everyone covered their ears in pain? By the time I snapped out of my thoughts, everyone but Hermione had gone up to their dorms. 

"What's wrong?" she asked curiously. 

"Why did everyone cover their ears," I asked curiously.

"There was a loud screeching noise! Didn't you hear it?" she said shocked.

"No..." I said frowning.

"What did you hear?"

"Singing, I heard singing."

 


	20. 19 - Yule Ball

Since the announcement of the Yule Ball, the school had been going  _crazy._ Seeing as I already had a date, I didn't need to worry about going alone. But most others, including Ron and Hermione, were not in relationships. I would've thought my best friends would go together but  _no,_ Ron doesn't have the guts to ask Hermione out.

I was in the Library reading a very interesting book on dragons, when a very frustrated Viktor came and sat down next to me. 

 _"I need help asking someone out to the ball..."_ he said grinning sheepishly. 

 _"Is it Hermione?"_ I smirked. He had been visiting the Library a lot lately, and it certainly wasn't for reading.

 _"Yes..."_ he said embarrassed. I laughed at him and he slapped my shoulder playfully.

 _"Well be confident, and don't be offended if she throws you off - which she won't!"_ I said encouragingly. He nodded and headed over to the other end of the Library where Hermione was sitting. I laughed to myself and packed up my belongings, then heading back to the common room to get ready for the Hogsmede trip this afternoon.  _Everyone seems to forget I don't have permission._

It was absolutely freezing. The snow was a foot deep and flakes like icing sugar were falling from the sky. I was going with Hermione this trip, in hope to find the perfect dress for the ball. She had confessed to me about Viktor asking her out and was blushing like crazy the whole way there.

The dress stores were packed with students from all of the schools. There were the cheaper stores, where most of the Hogwarts students were shopping, but nothing seemed to catch our eyes in there. We continued down the street when we saw a almost empty store with  _beautiful_ dresses in the window. The only people who seemed to occupy it were two students from Beauxbatons, one of them I recognised as their champion, Fleur Delacour _._ We looked in the window and saw why it wasn't as occupied. One of the price tags said  _700_ gallons! That is almost unaffordable to most, but not for me - with an enormous bank account of an old, rich pureblood family. 

"No, no, no! I couldn't  _possibly_ afford these dresses! We should just go back to -" said Hermione frustrated.

"My treat!" I interrupted and dragged her into the store. We searched through the clothing racks for ages, trying many on, until we found the most beautiful dresses. Hermione's was a luscious pink and purple while mine was a sea of green and blue. I brought the dresses to the counter and paid a total of  _2000_ gallons for them. Hermione couldn't stop thanking me the whole way back to Hogwarts.  
  
  


*  
  
  


We were standing at the top of the stairs, too nervous to go down. Hermione looked stunning, with her hair no longer frizzy and done in an elegant bun. Her make up was done naturally, not to over the top.

" _You_  go first!" she said.

"No,  _you_ go first!" I said annoyingly. We continued bickering until we heard voices and hid behind a pillar.

"Poor girl, probably crying in her room..." said the familiar voice of Ron. 

"Why would she do that?" questioned Harry. 

"Well no one asked her!" said Ron. Hermione and I shared a look and tried to hold in out laughter. Ron had asked Hermione out  _'as friends'_ a few days after Viktor, and didn't believe it when she said she had a date. We stayed hidden until we heard their footsteps reach the bottom of the stairs. 

"Together?" Hermione whispered nervously. 

"Together."

We walked out to the stop of the steps and slowly walked down. Everyone seemed to quiet down and all eyes turned to us.

"Is that  _Hermione Granger?_ And  _Emma Snow?"_ The whispers seemed to erupt throughout the crowd and as we reached the bottom of the step. Harry came up to me and slipped an arm around my waist and kissed my cheek, while Viktor kissed Hermione's hand very formally, making her giggle. I don't think either of us have blushed more in our entire lives.

The night was amazing. We danced a bit but neither of us were very good, so we laughed it off and sat down at a table, watching couples fail in amusement. Some however, were doing rather well, particularly Ginny and Neville. But they soon took a break, Ginny heading out into the cool winter air. We were having some snacks, when we heard a very familiar voice speaking loudly.

"Ronald you ruined,  _everything!_ " said a very upset Hermione. I glared at him and dragged Hermione up to the dorms, where she collapsed crying. 

" _Why?_ All superfan of Viktor and now  _he's the enemy_?" she said confused.

"He's just  _jealous!"_ I said, trying to comfort her. She looked at me confused, like she didn't understand why. I just looked sadly at her and changed out of my dress into some track pants and a loose shirt, removed my makeup and hopped into bed.


	21. 20 - The Second Task

Hermione and I were in the Library, researching ways to breathe underwater. Earlier that week Harry had discovered the egg's true meaning, which only made us more stressed.

"The second task is tomorrow and we haven't found anything!" moaned Hermione, slamming her book shut. 

"We have to keep looking!" I exclaimed frustrated. 

"We're not going to find anything!"

"Not if we don't keep looking," interrupted Harry, who had just arrived. 

"Miss Granger, Miss Snow. Professor McGonagall would like to see you," said Mad-eye Moody, who had just appeared. 

"But-" said Harry.

"No buts, c'mon now." I groaned and got up reluctantly and headed to her office. We entered to find Cho Chang and Gabrielle Delacour sitting in front of her desk.

"Ah! Perfect your all here. This won't hurt a bit," she said pulling out her wand. The last thing I heard was her muttering some words, before it all went black.   
  
  


*  
  
  


I began to stir, opening my eyes to nothing but darkness. I went to reach for my wand only to feel something slimy down my side. I screamed but no sound came out, just my mouth filling with  _water._

Then I realised, I'm under water. But somehow  _breathing_. I tried to kick, but my feet were tied together, and my hands were no use as there was nothing around me to reach for. I focused my mind on magic, hoping to produce some form of light. To my luck, my hand lit up like a little blue orb and I could finally see around me. It was dark and murky, old statues and boulders from some sort of ruin surrounded me. And  _merpeople_. 

_"How is this possible?"_

_"Do you think -"_

_"No Isabel was the last!"_

_"But -"_

"What are you talking about?" I screamed, only for a loud screeching voice to come out. They all turned their heads to me, and one who was holding some weapon like rod pointed below me. I looked down and the rope holding my legs together broke off. I then began to sink to the sea floor. 

I pushed off the sea bed with difficultly, due to the pressure of the lake. I swam around with the orb of light to see Hermione, Gabrielle and Cho in a somewhat  _petrified_  state, tied to the rocks on the sea bed. Then I realised,  _this is the second task._ So this was the treasure the champions had to retrieve, a person.

I swam around the area and found a broken mirror on the seabed, and used it to look at my face. My face seemed to glow in the reflection, a halo around my head. My clothes were soaked through, so I pulled off my cloak so I could swim properly. I used my light to find my way, until suddenly the lake lit up and I could see my surroundings properly,  _it must be dawn._

I put out my light and swam around in the slowly warming water, collecting seaweed and shells. Although I was not very interested in jewellery normally, sea jewellery was fascinating to me. I thread little bracelets and attached long strings of pearls into my hair. 

Time passed by very quickly, it wasn't until a loud bang of a canon erupted throughout the lake, a sign that the task had started. 

Cedric rescued Cho first, followed by Victor rescuing Hermione. Then Harry came down, but the merpeople grabbed my feet, holding me back from reaching him _._  An hour was almost up, so I didn't want him wasting breath on me. He took a look around panicking, before swimming up in worry. I then waited for Fleur to come grab her sister.

_5 minutes later, 10 minutes later, 15 minutes later._

She was late, very late. I knew her sister would wake up soon, so I grabbed a boulder and smashed the merperson's hand that was holding my leg. The merpeople were then distracted with the injured mermaid, so I took advantage of the distraction and swam over to her sister to see the little girl stirring. I grabbed her quickly, knowing she would drown soon. I was half way to the surface when she woke up, and she immediately went into panic. She was kicking and screaming trying to get her bindings off, with no avail. I swam below and untied her feet as she looked around - screaming hysterically at the Merpeople and Grindylows. I tugged on her arm and she turned to look at me, her eyes lighting up with hope. I pulled her to the surface, only to find we were ages away from the stands in the middle of the lake.

"Hold on to my leg!" I said as she spluttered, struggling to stay above the surface. She grabbed on, and I began to swim. 

"She wasn't  _there!"_ screeched the familiar voice of Harry.

"Ma sœur, ma little sister!" cried Fleur. 

Gabrielle tried to stay above the water, but she had clearly not been taught how to swim. I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to a large wooden platform. Everyone was leaning over the railings on the other side of the stands, so no one had noticed yet. There was no ladder, so using all my strength I hoisted her up onto the platform were she lay down shivering from both the cold and the shock. I hoisted my self up and pulled myself over to her. I was exhausted, and my clothes were soaking wet. I crawled over to the girl who was still hyperventilating.

"A little help would be nice!" I splutter, causing everyone to turn their heads in disbelief just before I passed out.


	22. 21 - Dreams

_Darkness. Nothing but darkness._ I could hear everything around me, trying my hardest to open my eyes, or even move my hand, but with no avail. It was like someone was holding me down, preventing me from waking up. But one day, the darkness seemed to morph into a dream.

_I was in a dark house. Cobwebs lined the tapestries and spiders scuttled in nooks and crannies. The shadows seemed to jump out at me, warning me from entering the door I was standing in front of. I could hear whispering and hissing from the other side, and my curiosity urged me to listen in. I peeked through the crack that ran up the door, revealing the light that lay behind it. A large chair was facing away from me, and the deatheater I saw at the World Cup was crouching in front of it._

_"Tell me..." hissed a voice coming from the chair._

_"She had long brown hair and green eyes. If you were the same age you would look like twins. I asked her who her father was? She asked if I was a deatheater, so I showed her the mark and she told me," he said in a proud tone._

_"Who knows of her... parentage?" hissed the voice._

_"She told me the Malfoy's suspect it. Dumbledore and Potter know along with that half-giant. They seem fine with it, she seems nice."_

_"Nice?" the voice hissed in disbelief._

_"She can be very... deceiving," said the death eater, with a smirk plastered to his face._

_"What happened after that?" said the hissing sound._

_"We talked about the deatheaters. She looked pissed about those unworthy followers running from the mark, called them cowards!" he said before letting out I psychotic laugh. "So then we heard noises coming from the distance, she told me to go. When Barty Crouch Sr._ _turned up and interrogated her. She played innocent and lead them in the opposite direction."_

_"So she's on our side? And fooled your father?" hissed the voice in a curious tone._

_"I don't know... she seems truly in love with Potter," grumbled the deatheater. The voice hissed in disapproval, but continued._

_"When will I get to see her?"_

_"I don't know..." said the deatheater._

_"She's my daughter! Figure something out, but not until I'm at my strongest, I don't want her seeing me weak!" hissed the voice, attempting to shout. The dream than began to fade away..._

I bolted upright, I was drenched in sweat and scared out of my mind.  _Was that a dream or a... vision?_ My head was so full of thoughts that I didn't notice the group of people staring at me with wide eyes. 

"What happened?" I croaked, confused at all the worried faces.

"What happened down in the lake?" asked Dumbledore, who was standing behind the Weasley's. I frowned in confusion, but then it all came back to me.

"I don't know, what happened?" I asked feigning confusion.

"You don't remember?" asked George. 

"No, where's Harry?" I asked panicking. Fred pointed to the bed next to me, which Harry was fast asleep on. I sighed in relief and lay back down on the bed, while the others left me in peace. I slowly drifted off to sleep, with a name lingering in my head...

_Barty Crouch Jr._   
  
  


*  
  
  


I woke up to feel and figure moving into bed with me and wrapping my arms around my waist. I opened my eyes to see a sleepy Harry staring at me. 

"Watcha staring at?" I giggled. 

"You," he laughed. I blushed before placing my lips on his, only to hear gagging noises from a red head who just walked through the door. 

"Bloody hell! I'm scarred for life!" exclaimed Ron. 

"Please, you would do anything to have Hermione do that to you," I said smirking. His face went bright red and his ears heated up. He then began a long list of denials, to which Harry and I only raised our eyebrows too.

I was aloud out of the hospital win that day, which didn't turn out to be the best idea. I was completely bombarded with questions regarding the task and showered with presents from the Beauxbatons girls as a thanks for saving Gabrielle. But the third task was approaching fast, and this time there was no clue. I just  _knew_ something bad was coming out of it, and my nightmare's weren't helping. Every single night it was the same nightmare of the hissing voice and the deatheater, but each time they would discuss different things. Something just wasn't right... but I couldn't quite place it. I wasn't until one morning when I received a letter, that I began to believe my dreams were real. It was written in some form of code, but when I solved it, I was terrified.

_Emma Riddle,_

_I met you at the World Cup, my name is Barty Crouch Jr. Your father would like to ask what side you are on._

_Sincerely, the Dark Lord's most loyal follower._


	23. 22 - The Third Task

Today was the day. The third task. Saying I was scared was an understatement, I was terrified. There was bad feeling in my stomach, I knew something was going to go wrong. 

The four of us headed down to breakfast, everyone cheering as Harry walked by. But Harry was far more preoccupied with his scar hurting than the other students encouragement. He told me of his dreams that were strangely similar to mine, the dark house, the chair, the hissing voice and Barty Crouch Junior. It all matched up, I knew it was no coincidence. I decided not to reply to the letter that was sent to me, to be truthful, I didn't know what side I was on. We ate in silence, all of us too nervous to say something. 

"Good luck today Potter! I bet you'll be the first to die," sneered a blonde ferret walking by us. Ron was about to reply, but I gave him a hard kick from under the table. 

"Don't provoke him," I hissed.

"But he's such a bloody —"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence Ronald Weasley," hissed Hermione who was giving him a death glare. He shrunk back at her expression, scared shitless. 

"Come on, let's get this over with," muttered Harry.  
  
  


                          *  
  
  


A maze stretched for miles outside the school entrance. The walls were over 10 metres of thick, dark bush, towering over the stands. I stared fearfully at the entrance, knowing it was possibility that Harry would never come out. Bets were being placed and music filled the stands, everyone excited for their schoolmates impending death. Harry stood beside me, fidgeting with his fingers while staring at the entrance of the maze. I grabbed his hand and stood in front of him,

"Come out alive, I don't care if you don't win, just come out alive," I said desperately. He nodded and engulfed me in a hug, and I clung on for dear life. I saw Hermione and Ron looking nervous in the stands, while Malfoy looked smug with his friends. I walked over to Viktor, who was being given a pep talk by his dodgy headmaster Karkaroff. 

 _"Viktor,"_ I said grabbing his attention. 

_"Emma..."_

_"Don't get killed,"_ I said seriously.

_"I won't, I promise."_

I have him a hug before running back to Harry, with only a minute left before the start. I grabbed his face and kissed him like I would never see him again, which he happily returned. 

"I love you," I whispered, pressing his forehead against mine.

"I love you too." 

I then headed to the stands, where I sat beside Hermione and Ron, shaking in fear as I heard the cannon strike. Harry entered slowly, examining his surroundings before turning back to lock eyes with me as the maze entrance closed.  
  
  


*  
  
  


It had been too long. They should have been out. I sat fidgeting with my fingers, as everyone waited  _excitedly._ The sky was turning black as the new moon wained. The stands were quiet, anxious to see the outcome. Fleur had been rescued, crying in fear. Viktor soon after, having been  _possessed._ This had seemed to make Dumbledore worry. He was now pacing up and down, his patience long gone. Suddenly the sky twisted in a vertex, and a bright light dropped two figures from the sky. 

_Harry. And Cedric._

Music started to play as everyone cheered for the victors. People were collecting their winnings and handing out sweets, all with bright smiles on there faces. I then turned to see Harry still clutching onto Cedric.

_Something's wrong._

The music seemed to die down and people stopped cheering. A crowd had gathered around Harry, preventing me from reaching him. I could hear him mumbling something about Cedric and when Dumbledore crouched down beside him, he screamed something that made my face turn pale.

"He's back, Voldemort's back!"

Time seemed to stop at that moment. I was frozen to the spot, my body having gone completely numb. Moody grabbed Harry and dragged him away from Cedric's body, snapping me back into reality. I quickly followed after them, but not in time to get into Moody's office before him locked the door. I then knew he was not all that he seemed to be, as I listened into the conversation. 

_Barty Crouch Jr._

Soon Dumbledore was behind me, accompanied by Snape and Mcgonagal. He blasted the door open, stunning Crouch in the process. They all rushed in, pushing me out of the way, before pouring Vertiserum into Crouch's mouth. He then began to spill the truth about the plan to enter Harry in the tournament, so he could revive  _The Dark Lord._ He then saw be standing my the door and smiled psychotically.

"We meet again,  _Princess_." Everyone turned their heads to me in confusion.

"But this time I know your name,  _Barty,"_ I sneered. "Don't think I'm helping you out of this." 

I then walked over to Harry and pulled him out the door while the older teachers dealt with Crouch.

"He wants to see you!" he shouted, stopping me in my tracks. 

"But I don't want to see him," I replied, before continuing on, taking Harry to the hospital wing. I explained to him how I met the deatheater. He didn't seem to be listening though, just replaying memories over and over in his head.


	24. 23 - Grimmauld Place

It had been two months since everything happened.  _Everything happened._ My psychotic father had returned from the dead, one of my fellow students was killed and my boyfriend almost dead along with him. You would expect that I would be with Harry, but alas, Dumbledore thought it would be safer to keep me hidden. He believes that my father was going to pop out of no where and snatch me, before turning me into a killing machine.

So, he kept me at Hogwarts where I 'couldn't be touched' - as he put it. But I had been kept in the dark, on purpose. Hermione and Ron's letters had been getting shorter, less detailed every time they sent one. Harry seemed to be in the same situation, rambling his thoughts about it in his letters. I felt quite offended however, that people wouldn't trust me with information about everything. One thing however, I did have access to, was the Daily Prophet. 

Cornelius Fudge refused to believe that the Dark Lord is back, and believes Dumbledore is trying to take over the ministry. Constant articles such as  _'The Boy who Lied'_ are all over the paper, every day. 

_They're all scared._

But there is only so much you can do while alone in a castle for two months, and it became extremely boring. I did however, finally get onto good terms with Hagrid - which was rather difficult as my father ruined his life in a way.   
  
  


Finally the day came when I was allowed to leave, a few weeks before school returned. I was going to be staying at some 'Grimmauld Place', which was hosting the Order of the Pheonix and was the family home of Harry's Godfather, Sirius Black. I packed my belongings into my trunk and shoved it into the Gryffindor common room's fireplace, grabbed some Floo Powder and step inside.

"12 Grimmauld Place," I spoke clearly.

I landed in an gaunt, dusty room. The wall paper was peeling off and the couches had been devoured my moths. I grabbed my trunk and walked out into the empty hallway. It appeared I was on the top floor, so I carefully made my way down the narrow stairs, passing many floors until I was at the bottom floor. I left my trunk by the stairs and walked down the narrow hallway to a closed door, where I could hear voices from behind. I pushed open the door and everyone stopped talking and turned to me. Everyone was at the table, including Harry. He jumped up and engulfed me in a hug, closely followed by Hermione. 

"Emma! Wonderful to see you dear, unfortunately there are no more spare chairs -"

"Oh no problem Mrs. Weasley," I smiled and sat on Harry's lap, which he happily obliged too, wrapping his hands around my waist. Fred and George stifled a laugh at Ron's discomfort, which they received a glare back in return.

"So this is the girl..." spoke a voice from down the table. His face I could recognise from anywhere,  _Sirius Black._ Harry nodded and Sirius started laughing.

"So you've found yourself a Lily?" he said smirking. "Just like your father... so who's the lucky girl?" he said staring at me.

"Emma Snow," I replied smiling. He exchanged a look with Remus, who I just noticed sitting there.

"Your Issi's daughter. Don't look like her much, but I can see you got her smile," he said grinning. I was surprised he knew my mother, she didn't seem to have many friends. Everyone went back to talking while Harry, Ron, Hermione and I left the table to go upstairs. 

The bedroom was dark and damp, but the beds looked clean and comfy enough - clearly Mrs. Weasley's doing. I opened my trunk and pulled out my belongings, while Hermione gave me a catch up on everything that has happened. We talked a lot about the trial when Harry and Ron went to get changed, and also about the ministry - taking advantage of not having their very harsh opinions interrupting us on every sentence. But when Hermione and Ron went downstairs for dessert, I took an opportunity to be with Harry. The moment they left he chucked me on the bed and climbed on top of me, and then crashed his lips to mine like there was no tomorrow. I happily obliged, pulling him closer to me as he stifled a moan. Then suddenly, I heard a crack.

Fred and George seemed to find it funny, aparating into our room while we were having a  _very_ heated make-out session. Harry glared at them and rolled off me, while they were still laughing their heads off.

"Don't you think for one minute George Weasley that I didn't see you behind that gargoyle with Angelina Johnson!

He suddenly paled and ran out of the room, followed by Fred who was laughing his head off. Harry and I shared a look and shook our heads,  _typical twins._

I decided to have a little explore of the house,  _if you can call it a house_. I headed downstairs into the first room on the left, which had a large wallpaper with faces and names upon it,  _The Black Family Tree_ written on the top of one wall. I traced my hands along the tree, finding Sirius's line. His face had been burnt off, like someone had done it on purpose.

"My mother did that, the day she kicked me out," said a voice from behind me. I whipped around to see Sirius leaning on the door frame. "You remind me of your mother, always curious..."

"You knew my mother," I stated. "What was she like?"

"Issi was an interesting one, a few years older than myself. I meet her with Remus after Hogwarts, I remember the day like it was yesterday... she was a true beauty, with a rare kindness about her... always very secluded. Then she disappeared," he said pained.

"Did she know Harry's parents?" 

"No. They had already gone into hiding, but they knew of her. She was rather famous, having been in all of the houses... but she wasn't at all like you would expect her to be. She was extremely quiet... but she always smiled when she went to visit that  _love interest_ of hers," he said sadly. I stared at him blankly in realisation,  _Sirius loved my mother._ "I loved her, I won't deny it. But her heart belonged with who I presumed was your father... who was he?"

"Doesn't matter," I said with pain before walking out of the room. 

*

Harry's trial went successfully, thank god. Dumbledore put use to his great twist on words to convince enough people to believe him, which was hard considering the Prophet these days.

September 1st came quickly, and soon enough we were sitting in a carriage on the way to Hogwarts. I had recently read through the new Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook, and I was shocked at how far the ministry had gone to infiltrate the school. I sat in the window with my head on Harry's shoulder as I read  _And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie,_ deciding to take a trip back to the muggle world for once. 

"Well would you look at that, it's scar-head, mudblood, weasel and blood-traitor," sneered a very annoying voice from the doorway of our compartment.

_This was going to be a long year._


	25. 24 - Umbridge

The first day of class had gone horrifically, to be short. It all started with DADA in the morning with the new Professor Umbridge, who had given such a  _delightful_ speech to me and my fellow students last night at the welcoming feast.

"Good morning children," she said in a sickly sweet voice, "Ordinary, Wizardry, Level Examinations. O, W, Ls. More commonly known as owls. Study hard, and you will be rewarded, fail to do so - the consequences may be, severe."

"Your previous instruction in this subject had been disturbingly  _uneven._ You will be pleased to know, from now on, you will be following a carefully structured, ministry approved course of defensive magic, yes?" she said to Hermione, who had her hand in the air.

"There's nothing in here about using defensive spells?" she said confused.

"Using spells," she squeaked, "Well I can't imagine why you would need to use spells in my classroom!"

"We're not going to use magic?" said Ron baffled.

"You will be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk free way," she said firmly, yet still in that annoying, sickly sweet way.

"What use is that, if we're going to be attacked it won't be risk free," said Harry annoyed.

"Students will raise their hands when they speak in my class!" she glared,"It is the view of the ministry, that a theoretical knowledge will be sufficient to get you through your examinations, which after all, is what school is all about!"

"And how is theory supposed to prepare us for what's out there?" he said pressing the subject.

"There is nothing out there dear, who would you imagine, would want to attack children, like yourself?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe Lord Voldemort!" he said like it was obvious. I squeezed his hand under the table, knowing he was in for it now.

"Now let me make this, quite plain. You have been told that a certain Dark wizard is at large again, this is a lie!" 

"It's not a lie! I saw him! I fought him!" shouted Harry angrily.

"Detention Mr. Potter!" she shouted.

"So according to you Cedric Diggory dropped dead at his own accord?"

The whole class gasped at his response, and I gave him a warning sideway glance.

"Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident!"

"It was not! It was murder! Voldemort killed him, you must know that!" he shouted, standing up angrily.

"Enough!" she shouted, silencing the whole classroom, "Enough, see me later, Mr. Potter; my office!" he grabbed his stuff and was about to walk out when I grabbed his sleeve and whispered in his ear,

"Don't worry, I'm going to give that bitch hell!" I said in a hushed tone.

He stifled a laugh and strutted out of the room. I turned back to the front, smirking at the confused looking toad.

"Emma Snow, I presume? Do tell us what you told him, unless you want to join him in detention?" she said, returning my smirk.

"If I tell you, will you promise you won't give me a detention?" I said innocently. She nodded and egged me on.

"I told him he could have some second base after his detention," I said innocently. The whole class either burst into to laughter, or look thoroughly disturbed (Ron was one of those). She looked horrified but then smirked in reply.

"Mr. Malfoy, how about we start with you - explain what your parent's jobs are!" she said happily.

"They are very senior in many areas of the ministry," he said pompously.

"What about you, Ms. Snow?"

"Well my mother didn't really do anything after school, despite her  _perfect_ scores..." I said trying to defend her.

"And what about your father?" she said, eager for a reply with the truth - as was the rest of the class. I stood up grabbing my stuff, she looked disappointed - so I decided to satisfy her needs.

"He served the Dark Lord,  _still does_. He murdered hundreds, maybe thousands of people along side  _Lucius Malfoy_ ," I said looking at Draco, " _Bellatrix Lestrange, Regulas Black, Severus Snape, Fenrir Greyback and many more_!" I said as I walked out of the classroom, but paused at the door, "And how could I forget?  _Peter Pettigrew!"_ I said before storming out.

                                                                              *

Turns out my outburst travelled fast around the school, and like many other times in my Hogwart's education.

"God would they all just stop staring," I whined at dinner. 

"Well to be fair you did make an  _interesting_ comment..." replied Hermione. 

"What? The thing about deatheaters? Or the second base —" said Ron who was cut of by Hermione whacking him over the head with a book. 

"I think you should all be more worried about what Harry's detention will be!" I said annoyed. Harry grabbed my hand under the table and started rubbing circles around the top of it, trying to calm me down.

"I've gotta go now, wish me luck..." said Harry disappointed. I gave him a hug and a light peck before he walked off.   
  
  


It wasn't until later how right I was about being worried. Umbridge had made Harry write with a special quill that carved lines into his hand. There was now a scar ' _I must not tell lies'_ on his hand. While everyone was down in the common room I took Harry up to his dorm so he could get some rest, his nightmares were getting worse lately and he needed sleep. 

"Your father is quite relentless, always popping into my head whenever he likes..." he says annoyed, throwing his tie and robe on the floor in frustration. I smirk at an idea and walked over to Harry smiling.

"I'm sure my father would be delighted to see his daughter doing this with his worst enemy..."

"Doing what?" said Harry confused.

"This," I said before pulling his shirt off and crashing my lips to his. 

_Let's just say we went a little further than second base..._


	26. 25 - Patronuses and Secrets

I looked around the room in awe. It was the perfect place to practice, just like Neville said.  _The Room of Requirement_. It had been a month since Harry's first dentention, and he had received more ever since. But she never managed to find a way to get me in trouble, as never once did I step over her line - just annoyed her out of her wits.

The first class, Harry and I taught them all the  _Expelliarmius_ spell. Hermione of course nailed it on the first try, making the fake deatheater's wand fly into her hand. But other's, like Neville, had trouble even producing the spell. What was most amusing was when Fred and George made a bet about who would win between Ron and Hermione, and Fred turned out to be richer at the end as Hermione left Ron speechless. His explanation was that he was taking it easy on her, but everyone knew otherwise.

"Alright guys! We'll meet up the same time next week," said Harry. People walked out saying there thanks until it was only Harry, Ron, Hermione and I left.

"Well that went well..." said Ron, trying to make conversation.

"Indeed... but what should we do after this class?" said Harry, rather lost. 

"Well I don't know about you... but I've always wanted to learn a Patronus..." muttered Hermione.   
  
  


So at the next meeting, Harry and I explained the concept of a Patronus and how to produce it. And the results turned out to be either very successful or a major fail.

"Think of your happiest memory, and concentrate very hard on it!" shouted Harry at the clump of students desperately trying to produce more than just a wisp of light. A small otter went flying around the room, being chased by a Fox Terrier. I turned to see both Ron and Hermione smiling at their patronuses, and I knew at once what each of their memories would have been of. Cho Chang, who was desperately trying to impress Harry, but failing miserably at producing wisps of light and at getting his attention. Surprisingly, Neville was actually producing some light and smiled at actually having gotten somewhere.

But what had me more surprised than anything was Ginny's patronus. Erupting from her wand was a white ferret, jumping around the room. I could see a faint blush on her face as the figure disappeared, and I knew immediately something was up. Because the first thing that comes to mind when I think of a white ferret is Draco Malfoy. 

*

I was sitting with Hermione at the back of the DADA classroom, staring out the window in deep thought. I couldn't get the thought of Ginny and her patronus out if my head. I decided I needed to talk to her about it, but discreetly. After class I headed back to the common room to find Ginny, only to see her heading in the same direction. I caught up to her, and dragged her into a broom closet.

"What are you doing?" asked an alarmed Ginny. I shut the door and grabbed her wand before she could do anything with it.

"I just wanted to ask you a question," I said. 

"Well you could have just -"

"What was your memory you thought about for your patronus?" I said suspiciously. Her eyes widened and she looked at the door for her escape, "your not going until you answer my question. Why was your patronus a white ferret?"

"I don't know what your implying -" she said with a scared face.

"You know exactly what I'm implying," I said smirking. "It's Malfoy, isn't it?" Her face turned shocked at my discovery and I could see beads of sweat on her forehead.

"Please don't tell anyone!" she begged.

"I wasn't going to..." I said calmly, "just tell me what's going on between you two!"

"Well, it started last year at the ball... we both ditched our dates and he saw me by the Black Lake... and one thing has lead to another and were kinda a secret thing..." she said smiling. I raised my eyebrows,  _Malfoy_ could be sweet?

"That's not the sort of person I would think-" I started, only to be interrupted.

"Don't judge people by their parents, you of all people should know that!" she said, but widened her eyes after she said it. It took some time to process, but I finally knew what she was talking about.  _How did she know?_ She seemed to get my message, and explained.

"I know he's your father. You look almost identical to him... I remember from the diary..." she said crying now. 

"Who knows?" I said horrified.

"No one I know... who did you tell?" she said.

"Harry. Hagrid worked it out and Dumbledore told me..." I said horrified. I couldn't believe what would happen if someone knew who wasn't as nice as Ginny.

"Hermione and Ron don't know?" she said shocked. I shock my head, we were both crying.

"Well what do you know? I'm dating my father's biggest enemy, and your dating your family rival's son," I said laughing through my sobs. I don't exactly know how it happened, but we were both laughing so hard we collapsed to the floor. After we calmed ourselves I gave Ginny what you would call  _girl talk._

"You've kissed right?" I said to her. She majorly blushed and I grinned, "anything more?" I egged her on. All I needed was her facial expression to tell she had  _defiantly_ gone further.

"Don't tell-"

"SCANDOLUS!" I shouted.

"Oh please it's not like you and Harry-" she started but finished with my hand being placed over her mouth. 

"No dirty thoughts, Ms. Weasley!" I said, in a toad like voice like Umbridge. We were once again in a fit of laughter, and headed back to the common room. We stumbled in, trying to keep our cool but failing miserably. Harry, Hermione and Ron were sitting on the sofa by the fire staring at us weirdly. Ginny clambered up the stairs laughing, while I collapsed on the floor in front of the trio.

"What are you laughing about?" said Ron bewildered.

"Oh, trust me Ron, you  _don't_ want to know..."


	27. 26 - High Inquisitor

That morning the Daily Prophet had given us quite a shock. On the front of the newspaper was a picture of Umbridge smiling widely, with a shocking headline above.

**_MINISTRY SEEKS EDUCATIONAL REFORM, DOLORES UMBRIDGE APPOINTED FIRST EVER HIGH INQUISITOR._ **

"What's a 'High Inquisitor'?" said Ron, while shoving a piece of toast into his mouth. Hermione read the article out loud, making all of our faces turn to disgust. Not only was it an insult to Dumbledore, it was going to turn this school into a living hell. 

_In a surprise move last night the Ministry of Magic passed new legislation giving itself an unprecedented level of control at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

_'The Minister has been growing uneasy about goings-on at Hogwarts for some time,' said Junior Assistant to the Minister, Percy Weasley. 'He is now responding to concerns voiced by anxious parents, who feel the school may be moving in a direction they do not approve of._

_This is not the first time in recent weeks that the Minister Cornelius Fudge, has used new laws to effect improvements at the wizarding school. As recently as 30th August, Educational Decree Number Twenty-two was passed, to ensure that, in the event of a teaching post, the Ministry should select an appropriate person._

_'That's how Dolores Umbridge came to be appointed to the teaching staff at Hogwarts,' said Weasley last night. 'Dumbledore couldn't find anyone so the Minister put in Umbridge, and of course, she's been an immediate success, totally revolutionising the teaching of Defence Against the Dark Arts and providing the Minister with on-the-ground feedback about what's really happening at Hogwarts.'_

_It is this last function that the Ministry has now formalised with the passing of Educational Decree Number Twenty-three, which creates the new position of Hogwarts High Inquisitor._

_'This is an exciting new phase in the Minister's plan to get grips with what some are calling the falling standards at Hogwarts,' said Weasley. 'The Inquisitor will have powers to inspect her fellow educators and make sure that they are coming up to scratch, Professor Umbridge has been offered this position in addition to her own teaching post and we are delighted to say that she has accepted.'_

_The Ministry's new moves have received enthusiastic support from parents of students at Hogwarts._

_'I feel much easier in my mind now that I know Dumbledore is being subjected to fair and objective evaluation,' said Mr Lucius Malfoy, 41, speaking from his Wiltshire mansion last night. 'Many of us with our children's best interests at heart have been concerned about some of Dumbledore's eccentric decisions in the last few years and are glad to know that the Ministry is keeping an eye on the situation.'_

_Among those eccentric decisions are undoubtedly the controversial staff appointments previously described in the newspaper, which have included the employment of werewolf Remus Lupin, half-giant Rubeus Hagrid and delusional ex-Auror, 'Mad-Eye' Moody. Rumours abound, of course, the Albus Dumbledore, one Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, is no longer up to the task of managing the prestigious school of Hogwarts._

_'I think the appointment of the Inquisitor is a first step towards ensuring Hogwarts has a headmaster in whom we can all repose our confidence,' said a Ministry insider las night. Wizengamot elders Griselda Marchbanks and Tiberius Ogden have resigned in protest at the introduction of the post of Inquisitor to Hogwarts._

_'Hogwarts is a school, not an outpost of Cornelius Fudge's office,' said Madam Marchbanks. 'This is a further, disgusting attempt to discredit Albus Dumbledore.'_

_(For a full account of Madam Marchbank's alleged links to subversive goblin groups, turn to page seventeen.)_

"This is all  _outrageous_!" said Hermione, as we headed down to the potions classroom. Unfortunately, Umbridge was inspecting this class, so we couldn't continue to discuss it. But it turned out to be quite amusing, as she continued to ask questions to why Snape did not get the job he originally applied for. But it earned Harry, Ron and I a whack over the head with a rather hard book once she left, due to have barely been able to contain our laughter. But divination had been a far less entertaining inspection. 

"You've been in this post how long, exactly?" questioned Umbridge. 

"Uh, nearly s-sixteen years," said Trelawney, slightly stuttering.

"Quite a period... so it was Dumbledore who appointed you?"

"Yes," she said in her shaking voice. Trelawney was about to continue teaching, when she was once again interrupted by Umbridge.

"Could you please predict something, for me?" she squeaked. Trelawney was then lost for words, so umbridge wrote something down on her horrifically pink clipboard before walking out of the classroom. However that was not the worst incident with the High Inquisitor that day, as Defence Against the Dark Arts was possibly the worst class we've had so far. Hermione had expressed her opinions of the textbook we had been made to read, causing five points to be taken from Gryffindor. Harry then mouthed off, earning him another weeks detention. Ron and I were excited for Transfiguration however, because we knew Umbridge would get what she deserved from Professor McGonagall.

Professor Umbridge was standing at the back of the classroom when we all entered, taking the seats as far away from her as possible. McGonagall entered the room without giving the slightest indication that she knew Umbridge was there. She immediately began to teach, ignoring Umbridge's attempts to get her attention. When she did respond however, it was priceless.

"How do you expect to gain an idea of my usual teaching methods if you continue to interrupt me? You see, I do not generally permit people to talk when I am talking," said Professor McGonagall in cold fury. Umbridge's face was priceless, it looked like she had been slapped in the face. But our happiness did not last for long, due to the appointment of  _Educational Decree Number Twenty-four._

Umbridge mush have some how heard about Dumbledore's Army, because  _'All student organisations, societies, teams, groups and clubs are henceforth disbanded'._ Someone must have tipped Umbridge off, but it couldn't be anyone who signed up for the class, because none of them had horrible acne all over their face. We kept our lessons very secret after that, careful not to draw attention to ourselves.

On top of that, Harry was having more and more  _dreams._ We never thought any of them were true, until one night Harry had a horrific dream, that ended up being real. Mr. Weasley had been brutally attacked by a snake, causing him to be sent to St. Mungos. I remember the look on Harry's face in Dumbledore's office, and it broke my heart.


	28. 27 - Breakouts & Found-outs

The first day back from the Christmas holidays went far worse than expected. Breakfast was pretty normal, everyone was catching up after the break when the mail came in. Hundreds of Daily Prophets were dropped on to the four tables, as per usual, but that was not what had shocked us.

**_MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN. MINISTRY FEARS BLACK IS 'RALLYING POINT' FOR OLD DEATH EATERS_ **

_The Ministry of Magic announced late last night that there has been a mass breakout from Azkaban. Speaking to reporters in his private office, Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic, confirmed that ten high-security prisoners escaped in the early hours of yesterday evening and that he has already informed the Muggle Prime Minister of the dangerous nature of these individuals._

_'We find ourselves, most unfortunately, in the same position we were two and a half years ago when the murderer Sirius Black escaped,' said Fudge last night. 'Nor do we think the two breakouts are unrelated. An escape of this magnitude suggests outside help, and we must remember that Black, as the first person ever to break out of Azkaban, would be ideally placed to help others follow in his footsteps. We think it likely that these individuals, who include Black's cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, have rallied around Black as their leader. We are, however, doing all we can to round up the criminals, and we beg the magical community to remain alert and cautious. On no account should any of these individuals be approached._

"They're blaming this on Sirius?" said Harry in disbelief. 

"It's ridiculous, Dumbledore warned Fudge this would happen," said Hermione. "He's going to get us all killed because he can't face the truth." 

"Well, I guess we have to rely on ourselves, not that place they call a Ministry," I said annoyed. 

The article was now another reason for the members of the DA to start working harder. Neville finally managed to cast the stunning spell, as well as the disarming spell. Something tells me it has something to do with Bellatrix Lestrange escaping; she was the one to torture his parents into insanity. We were setting up to have duels when a loud crack was heard at the entrance to the room. Connor peered through the newly made crack in the wall, his eyes widened before running away from the wall, just in time because the wall exploded. Standing behind it was Umbridge and a few other Slytherins, including Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. 

"Seize them!" screeched Umbridge. I immediately hid my wand out of sight, knowing I might need to use it. The Slytherin's grabbed us, Zambini pulling on the back of my neck. Malfoy seized Ginny, rather lightly may I add, but you would have to know about  _them_ to see it. We were dragged along to Dumbledores office, where Cornelius Fudge was waiting for us. But what I couldn't believe was the lie Dumbledore made up to save our souls. He claimed that he set up the club, but when Fudge ordered the Aurors to arrest him, he disappeared into thin smoke - knocking us all over as he disappeared.

"You've got to admit, Minister, Dumbledore's got style," said Kingsley, who was secretly working for the order. I giggled under my breath, before the dreadful news was given; Umbridge was now Headmistress.   
  
  


That was the first time I had received detention, but after the brutal abuse I received at the orphanage, it didn't seem to hurt at all. But it was annoying, as it took time away from studying for our OWLS, which were happening the same week. Our last exam was Charms, having already done the practical part, all we needed to do was the written part. Most of us had handed our papers in, and just sat at our desk waiting for the time to run out, when a large bang was heard on the door of the great hall. We all turned our heads in confusion, when another bang hit the door. Professor Umbridge was not amused, she waddled down the centre of the hall, her pink heels clicking on the floor with each step. She opened the large doors and walked out into the foyer, looking around in confusion, when a firework exploded in her face. Suddenly, two flying red heads flew straight into the hall, throwing fireworks into the air. The hall exploded into cheers as the Weasley twins lead everyone out into the courtyard, where they set of a gigantic 'WWW' firework in the sky. I turned around to see a furious Umbride, with smoke emerging from her hair, glaring at the twins before they flew off into the wilderness. 

But what concerned me more, was that Harry was clutching his scar in the corner of the courtyard, with Hermione and Ron trying to get him out of the vision he was having. I ran over to him and helped him up, noticing the distraught look on his face.

"He has Sirius, Voldemort has Sirius."  
  
  


^#%#^  
  
  


I was guarding the left hallway while Harry, Ron and Hermione tried to talk to Sirius through the fireplace. Something was wrong though, it seemed awfully quiet. Suddenly, I was grabbed around the back of the neck, my wand snatched from my hand.

"If it isn't potty's girlfriend," sneered the voice of Pug-faced Parkinson in my ear. She dragged me to Umbridge's office, that Harry, Hermione and Umbridge herself were exciting. Harry and Hermione widened their eyes at the sight of me, but were forced to keep walking by Umbridge. I was dragged into the office, to find I was not alone. Neville, Luna and Ron were being held in as well, by Malfoy and his goons. Ginny was clearly not caught, so I knew my bargaining chip would work without her hating me for it.

"Malfoy!" I said, grabbing his attention. 

"What do you want?" he spat.

"How would your father react if I told him your...  _dirty little secret"_ I said smirking. His smile faltered, fear flashed in his eyes but he swallowed and replied,

"I don't know what your talking about, Snow."

"She told me," I said chuckling. His eyes widened and he immediately let go of Ron and motioned for everyone to follow. I snatched my wand back and he stormed out of the room, his pose following.

"What  _dirty little secret?"_ said Ron in glee, wanting to know what I had against Malfoy. 

"It's not just  _his_ , so I'm not spilling," I said glaring.  _Imagine if he knew what his sister was doing?_


	29. 28 - Department of Mysteries

The Ministry was oddly empty. The large fountain's dribbling was the only thing heard in the large entrance hall.

"Here, the elevator's will take us down," said Hermione, who looked very nervous. We piled in and pressed the button for the Department of Mysteries, holding on tight for the ride to come. The elevator swerved across and down, twisting and turning, and by the look on Ron's face, he did not enjoy it. 

"Department of Mysteries," said a 'fake' woman's voice through the speaker. 

We slowly stepped out, examining our surroundings. The walls were black tile, from the floor to the ceiling, with only blue flamed torches to light the way. We pushed open the door at the end of the hallway, widening our eyes at the sight inside. Thousands of prophecies sat upon shelves that reached metres above our heads, a soft blue glow coming from each of them. 

"Look for row 94," said Harry, looking around in worry. 

"Harry," said Hermione, "if Sirius was being tortured wouldn't we hear something?" I paled at her comment, but Harry only brushed it off.  _Why couldn't we hear anything?_

"86!" He said. We all ran after him as he counted up to 94, only to find no one there. Sweat beads were forming on Harry's head in panic as he looked into the darkness.

"Harry," said Neville, looking at a prophecy, "this one has your name on it..." 

Harry took it off the shelf, his eyes widening as though he heard something coming from the prophecy. But I also heard something, not what he was hearing,  _footsteps._

"Harry, we're not alone. If you hadn't realised already, this is a trap," I said, snapping his attention towards me. But he blatantly ignored me, staring at the prophecy in curiosity. I turned around to see figures closing in on us,

"Harry," I said, finally snapping him out of his trance. His eyes widened and he stepped in front of us, shielding us from the figures with silky deatheater mask on under each cloak, each with it's own individual design. One in particular walked further forward than the others, who were trapping us in. 

"Where's Sirius?" asked Harry, in a deadly calm tone.

"You should really know how to tell the difference between dreams, and  _reality_ ," said Lucius Malfoy, removing his mask. "You saw only what the Dark Lord  _wanted_  you to see. Now hand me the prophecy," he said, getting straight to the point. 

I hid my face behind Ron, who was tall enough to shadow me from recognition.But I heard all the same, almost shaking in fear of what might happen to Harry.

"You do anything to us I'll break it," threatened Harry. A psychotic, high pitched laugh was heard from behind Lucius. 

"He knows how to play," cackled the woman. "Itty, bitty, baby,  _Potter._ " I knew immediately who it was once she had come into view,  _Bellatrix Lestrange._ I saw Neville tense up beside me, hatred flashing through his eyes.

"Bellatrix Lestrange," he muttered in both fear and disgust.

"Neville Longbottom, is it? How's Mum and Dad?" she said sarcastically.

"Better now they're about to be avenged," he spat, raising his wand. Harry stopped him, while more tension filled the dark room. 

"Now everybody, just calm down," said Lucius, obviously hoping to hold off a fight. "All we want, is that prophecy."

"Why did Voldemort need me to come and get this?" said Harry immediately after. 

"You dare speak his name," whispered Bellatrix. "You filthy Half-Blood!" she screamed, her eyes popping out of her sockets.

"It's alright, just a curious lad aren't you," spoke Lucius. "Prophecy's can only be retrieved by those about whom they are made."  _So that's why he lured us here..._ "Which is lucky for you, really. Haven't you always wondered what is the reason for the connection, between you and the Dark Lord?" 

I turned to see deatheaters closing in on us, thankfully none I had met before so I wouldn't be recognised.

"Why he was unable to kill you, when you were just an infant?" continued Lucius. "Don't you want to know the secret of your  _scar_? All the answers are there, Potter, in your hand. All you have to do, is  _give it to me_ , and I can show you  _everything_ ," he said trying to convince Harry, who was pretending to buy it.

"I've waited fourteen years," replied Harry, luring him on.

"I know," said Lucius in fake sympathy.

"Guess I can wait a little longer... NOW!" he shouted. We casted spells in every direction, making most of the deatheaters fly back, but a few managed to defended themselves. We ran off at the sudden chance, trying to escape the hell hole that was the Department of Mysteries.

We ran through the shelves as the deatheaters appeared in front of us, desperate to escape. But then just to make things even more complicated, shelves began falling down all around us, making us run in a different direction. And by chance there happened to be a door we could exit through, or  _thought_ we could exit through. We jump through the door, only to find the floor was many metres down. Just as I closed my eyes to accept my impending death, an invisible force stopped me a foot above the ground, catching my fall. Harry quickly came over to me, wrapping his arms around me in a hug. He then turned to a large statue, with a void in the middle.

"The voices. Can you tell what they're saying?" he said. I looked at him confused,  _what voices?_

"They're aren't any voices, Harry," said Hermione, taking the words right out of my mouth. "Let's get out of here." 

"I hear them too," said Luna, in a dream like state. I shared a look with Hermione, before trying to pull Harry out of whatever trance he was in.

"Harry, we've been here to long," I said panicking, hearing sounds from above us. He snaps out of a trance and points his wand in the air.

"Get behind me!" We do as he says, raising our wands in the air in defence. Suddenly clouds of deatheaters swerved down over us, making us drop to the ground. I heard grunts and screams of people being snatched from around us. I duck down, only to be heaved back up by a figure and chucked around until I was facing the middle of the room with a wand to my neck. As was everyone else but Harry, who was standing in the centre with the prophecy.

"Did you actually believe... that you were truly  _naive_  enough to think... that children stood a chance... against us?" said Lucius Malfoy, walking up to him from the far side of the room. "I'll make this simple, Potter. Give me the prophecy now, or watch your friends die." He raised his hand, waiting to be given the prophecy. Harry looked around, trying to make up his mind.

"Don't give it to 'em Harry," said Neville in desperation, only to be shut up by Bellatrix. 

"Don't," I said loudly, speaking up for the first time. Everyone's head snapped to me, including Bellatrix. The deatheater gripped my neck tighter, making it hard to breathe.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Potty's  _girlfriend_!" said Bellatrix in a baby voice;  _she doesn't know who I am._ "Emma, is it?" she said giggling, "Emma Snow."

"I'm surprised, Bellatrix. I thought  _you_  of all people would know my  _real_ last name... guess your not as favourable to him as you think," I drawled. She frowned her eyebrows in confusion, creating a psychotic looking pout on her face. 

"Her father was a deatheater," said Ron in desperation. I rolled my eyes and let out a laugh,

"That's where I lied to you, Ronald." Everyone but Harry and Ginny snapped their heads towards me, looking at me in confusion and betrayal.

"What is the meaning of this!" shrieked Bellatrix, not being able to handle the confusion. But she was interrupted by a white light travelling into the room, silencing everyone.

"Get away from my godson."


	30. 29 - Riddle

Black and white flashes surrounded me.  _The Order._ I threw the deatheater off me, knocking it unconscious into the wall behind me. I hid behind a rock, trying to take in what was happening around me. Moody was stunning countless deatheaters, while Lupin and Tonks were protecting Ginny, Luna and Neville. I deflected the many spells flying in my direction, most from Bellatrix. Suddenly the deatheater that was holding me had revived, and was shooting very deadly spells in my direction.

"Protego!" I shouted, just in time to defend myself from a killing curse. I felt anger bubble up inside of me, my vision turning red. 

"Avada Kedavra!" I shouted at the deatheater, before I could even realise what I had done. He slumped down almost immediately, but my guilt soon disappeared.

"NO!" I heard the loud scream of Harry. I looked around, my eyes widening at the sight. Sirius was being pulled into the veil, after been hit with a killing curse. My heart stopped for a moment,  _Harry_. A loud cackle erupted from Bellatrix who ran through a door on the far side of the room. I was frozen, watching Lupin struggle to hold Harry back from running after her. But as he managed to get Lupin off and went sprinting through the door, and it was then I knew I had to stop him. I ran after him, through a long, narrow corridor which opened up to the large ministry atrium. 

"I killed Sirius Black!" shouted Bellatrix, before letting out a loud cackle of laughter that echoed throughout the large space. "You coming to get me?" she screamed sarcastically at Harry, who was gaining on her. 

"Crucio!" he shouted, taking me by surprise.  _He's incredibly angry._ She trembled beneath him as he held his wand to her terrified figure, but something was  _wrong_ , even from a good fifty metres away I could tell. A large figure floated through the air, emitting a cackle from Bellatrix.  _My father. Or what's left of him._

Harry attempted to shoot a spell at him, but was disarmed with a flick of Voldemort's wrist. He said something to Harry, a satisfied smile on his face, only for it to disappear, as one of the fireplaces lit up, revealing Dumbledore. 

"It was foolish for you to come here tonight  _Tom_ , the Aurors are on their way," he said in a calm voice. 

"And by which time I shall be gone, and  _you_ , shall be dead," replied Voldemort, sadistically smiling;  _then all hell broke loose_. I began to run over to Harry, who was leaning against the back of a statue as the two most powerful forces met. Voldemort was trying to hit Harry from behind Dumbledore, almost succeeding. I was almost there when I felt a large jolt in my stomach, which shortly after Bellatrix let out a high pitched laugh before disappearing into the flames of a fireplace. 

I looked down to see large cuts on my stomach and legs, blood oozing out of them. I collapsed to the ground; my body felt like it was on fire. I stared at the ceiling, hearing a faint shout through the ringing in my ears. All I could see was the roof, many miles above me. I turned my head slightly to see Harry lying down on the floor beside me, Dumbledore kneeling near him, but stopped by a shield of what looked like dust. 

"You're a fool Harry Potter, and you will loose...everything," said Voldemort, who had just appeared above Harry. I whimpered at the sight of the man who was my  _father_ , catching his attention. His eyes then trailed to the blood leaking out of me, sparking something in his eye I could not recognise. I suddenly feel the fiery sting of my body disappear, the slices on my body slowly closing up. 

"What's your name, girl?" he said, trying to confirm his suspicion.

"Emma Tom Riddle. But you already knew that,  _father,_ " I said softly. 

"And what side do you take?" he said in a deadly tone.

"I don't choose sides." 

Suddenly the fireplaces lit up, I turned my head to see ministry workers piling in, along Cornelius Fudge, who to my delight I got to see his shocked face before letting the darkness consume me. 

^%#%^

I awoke on a particularly comfy bed, one I knew to be Harry's. The morning light shined through the window,  _I must have been out all night._ I turned my head to see him packing his clothes into his trunk, facing away from me.

"Harry?" I said, rubbing the sleepy out of my eyes. His head snapped around, but the sad look on his face did not disappear.

"Everyone finally knows he's back," he sighed. "And that Sirius was innocent." My eyes widened as the memory came back to me,  _Sirius is dead._


	31. 30 - Rejection

Summer. Usually you would think that was a fun time of year. But when your boyfriend's godfather just died, and he and a Weasley girl are the only ones who have talked to you after the revelation of your parentage; your summer in bound to be pretty shit.

I sat in Ginny's room, staring out at the miles of fields and swap around me. I couldn't go anywhere without receiving a look of disgust. Somehow the story got out, Ron was probably responsible for that. He refused to be in the same room with me these days, and Hermione did whatever Ron did (just to impress him), so she was doing the same. The whole world knew who I was these days, the Prophet usually mentioned their confusion about my relationship with Harry, and why we hadn't broken up. The adults tried to be nice, but ended up awkwardly trying to leave the room at any chance. So here I was, avoiding everyone. 

"Em?" I heard Harry say from the doorway. "Dinner's ready." 

I followed him downstairs into the kitchen, ignoring the quietness of the room as I entered. I grabbed my dinner quickly, before retreating back upstairs. Ginny was lying on her bed, facing the wall. She had been avoiding everyone lately, like something was bothering her. 

"Ginny, what's wrong?" I questioned, sick of her behaviour. She grumbled, throwing me a piece of folded paper. I stared at it curiously, before opening it up and flattening it out.

_Dear Ginny,_

_I'm sorry but I can't send anymore letters, it's to unsafe. I also can't see you anymore this year, for the same reason._

_I love you, I'm sorry._

_Draco_

So  _that's_  why she's in such a bad mood. I was going to comfort her about it, but she was already fast asleep. I placed the letter by her pillow, before returning my plate to the kitchen - which was thankfully empty. I then headed up the narrow staircase to Harry and Ron's room, praying that Ron wasn't there. I peeked in and to my luck, he wasn't.

"Hey," said Harry, looking up from the prophet he was reading. I shut the door behind me, crawling onto the bed beside him.

"They hate me," I grumbled into his shoulders. 

"No they don't... they just can't come to terms with it that easily," he said, rubbing my shoulder. I snuggled my head into his shoulder, shutting my eyes. We lay in silence for awhile, until we were interrupted by the sound of the door handle turning. 

"What's she doing here?" spoke an annoyed Ron. I opened my eyes, glaring at him in disgust. 

"I'm with my boyfriend, Ron. Is that a problem?" I asked him innocently. He just gave me a dirty look and climbed into bed, facing away from us. 

"I'm going to bed now." I gave Harry a peck before slipping out of the room and headed downstairs to Ginny's room, where I fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow.

^%#%^

Fireworks flew around the store, sparking next to peoples heads. Candy lined the walls, different effects for each kind. Some people were walking up the wall, while other's were indulging themselves in the Love Potion section, including Hermione and Ginny. 

"Hello ladies," said the twins from behind them. "Love potions, eh? Yeh, they really do work! But from what we've been been hearing sis, you don't need help in that department," said Fred. I raised my eyebrows at Ginny in surprise;  _she found a rebound?_

"Aren't you currently dating Dean Thomas?" asked George.

"That's none of your business," she snapped. I was laughing on the inside, knowing she had created the perfect plan to not only rebound on Draco, but make him jealous. I looked around the store, unable to find the trio. I received a few dirty looks as I pushed through the crowd, obviously by people who had recognised me from the papers. I didn't know why people would think I was a bad person however, when I fought against my father at the ministry. But like when Harry's name got pulled from the Triwizard cup, people couldn't help but judge me - without any information on what sort of person I really was. I guess it was a wake up call however, to constantly remind me of my father,  _or what was left of him._

I walked through to the back of the shop, my hopes of finding them diminishing. But in the mean time, I ran into someone I hadn't seen in a while.

"Hello Emma," spoke the dreamy voice of Luna Lovegood. I was surprised she would even talk to me, being one of the people at the Ministry last year.

"Luna..." I spoke in both happiness and confusion.

"You have many nargles floating around your head. Are you wondering why I'm talking to you even after the revelation of your fascinating parentage?" she asked. Saying I wasn't creeped out by her ability to almost read my mind would be a very big lie. 

"Well I think you and Harry are sweet. Your kinda like Romeo and Juliet from that muggle play; star crossed lovers..." her eyes traveling upwards in a dreamy state, indicating she was either partly insane or incredibly high - but she did have a point.

"Have you seen Harry?" I asked, trying to change the subject. 

"I saw him leaving with Ron and Hermione; they looked like they were following someone..." she spoke innocently. I thanked her quickly, before hurrying out the entrance of the store onto the empty streets of Diagon Alley. 

Ollivanders had been ransacked, along with the ice-cream stall that used to have kids lining up for ages. Many of the stores had closed down in fear of the same happening to them. I continued looking around, trying to find a clue to where Harry and the other two were, but to no avail. It had been a good twenty minutes until I finally spotted them, speed walking out of Knockturn Alley.

"What the hell were you doing down there? Do you know how dangerous that is? You could've been killed -" but I was cut off by Harry.

"You wouldn't believe what we just saw Malfoy doing, and who he was with."


	32. 31 - Malfoy

"So your saying you think Malfoy is a deatheater?" 

"That's exactly what I'm saying," replied Harry.

"Don't jump to conclusions, Harry," Hermione intervened. She seemed to have totally forgotten the grudge she held on me, and was deeply interested in the conversation we were having inside the train compartment. Ron however, didn't even bother acknowledging my existence anymore, which hurt. 

"But what was he doing with  _Fenrir Greyback_ and  _Bellatrix Lestrange?"_ spoke Harry.

"Bellatrix is his aunt," said Ron, unconvinced with what Harry was implying. Harry sighed in defeat, having convinced no one of his thoughts.  _He has a point though._

"I don't know what to believe," I admitted. Just as I said that, Malfoy and his goons passed our compartment. He looked  _very_ different; in a plain black suit and his hair slicked to the side. You would think he was devilishly handsome, if it wasn't for the cold demeanour and blank look on his face.  _Something bad happened to him over the holiday..._

"I need some air," spoke Harry, grabbing something from his trunk. He exited the compartment, leaving me alone with Ron and Hermione. 

We sat in an awkward silence, none of us knowing exactly what to say. Hermione looked like she wanted to say something, but didn't know if she should. 

"Spit it out," I spat.

"Why didn't you tell us?" she said with hurt. I raised my eyebrows at her pathetic question, knowing she already knew the answer.

"How would you have reacted if I told you I was the Dark Lord's daughter," I said sarcastically. "Exactly how the rest of the world did," I said motioning to the Daily Prophet in her hands, with the title:

_Should Emma Riddle Be Aloud to Attend Hogwarts?_

I got up and left the compartment, the tension in there was too much. I walked down the long line of compartments, looking for Harry or Ginny, confused to where they both were. 

"Quibbler?" asked Luna, who was walking down the aisle, giving out free copies. I passed her off, knowing the magazine was full of bad jokes and imaginary creatures. But thank god I did, because as I looked up, I spotted Ginny and Dean sitting inside the compartment to my right, along with Seamus and Neville. Dean was staring at Ginny with a love struck face on his face, while Ginny was completely oblivious. I felt bad for Dean; there's probably nothing worse than being used as a rebound.

"Hey Emma," said Neville, another person who accepted me. I smiled at him, sitting down beside him. Thankfully no one in the compartment seemed to have a problem with me, even Seamus - which was surprising. 

Dean and Seamus were having a very intense game of exploding snap, in which I took Seamus's team after Ginny took Dean's. I was glad there were some people who were perfectly fine with me, even if there were only a few. My thoughts were interrupted when Dean put his hand down at the wrong time, making the pack explode. Seamus fist pumped in joy, it being the first round he had won so far. I took the distraction as an opportunity to drag Ginny out of the compartment to an empty one, knowing what the fake smile on her face meant. I locked the door, then cast a silencing charm to stop any eavesdroppers.

"What happened with Draco?" 

"He didn't even take a second look, he completely ignored me," she said, tears welling up in her eyes. I wrapped my arms around her, trying to comfort her. It was then I knew something was  _really_  up with Malfoy, his eyes wouldn't just pass over  _Ginny_  like he never saw her. 

^%#%^

I sat at the Gryffindor table, ignoring the stares I was getting from half the students. I was incredibly worried; Harry hadn't arrived yet. Ron however, was scoffing his food without a worry in the world.

"How can you just sit there like everything is ok? Your best friends is missing!" scolded Hermione, hitting him over the head with her book, taking the words right out of my mouth.

"Oi! He's right there," he replied, irritated that his meal had been interrupted. I turned to see Harry walking into the hall, holding a cloth to his nose. He sat down rather annoyed, while I took the bloody cloth out of his hand and dabbed his bleeding nose, that thankfully wasn't broken.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Tell you later," he mumbled, just as Malfoy entered the hall - a smirk plastered on his face as he headed to the Slytherin table.  _So Malfoy did this._ I tried to keep my cool as I ate, furious that he dared do such a thing.  _What the hell does Ginny see in him?_

It was then Dumbledore caught the attention of the students, ready to making his beginning of the year speech.

"You know, each and every one of you was searched upon your arrival here tonight, and you have the right to know why. Once, there was a young man - who like you - sat in this very hall, walked this castle's corridors, slept under it's roof. He seemed to all the world, a student like any other. His name;  _Tom Riddle_." Murmurs erupted around the hall, many people's heads turning to stare me. 

"Today of course, he is known all over the world by another name. Which is why, as I stand, looking out upon you all tonight, I'm reminded of a sobering fact. Everyday, every hour - this very minute perhaps - dark forces attempt to penetrate this castle's walls. But in the end, their greatest weapon, is  _you_. Just something to think about... now off to bed, pip pip." 

Everyone stood up from the tables, heading to their common rooms. But I stayed seated for awhile, thinking over what Dumbledore just said.  _Why had he said that as though he was talking to a particular someone?_ I knew it wasn't me, but who was he trying to talk to.

My thoughts were interrupted by Harry, who had put a hand on my shoulder and had a look of sympathy on his face. I sighed and headed up to the common room, knowing that things will never be the same again.


	33. 32 - Memories

The first day of class was awful; potions in particular. Hermione and I arrived early, waiting eagerly for the class to start... but as soon as the teacher stepped in, my hopes for a good teacher shattered. His eyes immediately trailed to me, fear in his eyes.  _So he knew my father._ However, his face immediately lightened up at the sight of Harry, once he stepped through the door, Ron behind him. 

"Harry, my boy! I was beginning to think you weren't coming!" he exclaimed. "Get your books out!" 

"Um, sir. We don't have our books yet... we weren't aware we could take this class," said Harry. 

"Not a problem! Grab some from the cupboard," Slughorn replied enthusiastically. "Now, can anyone identify these concoctions?"

Hermione and I shot our hands up, but he only seemed to acknowledge her.

"Miss?"

"Granger. Well this one's Vertiserum, it's a truth telling serum. That one's Amortentia, the most powerful love potion in the world," she said.

"Correct! Of course Amortentia doesn't create real love, that would be impossible. It creates a powerful obsession with the person whom it was created for. It is possibly the most dangerous potion in the world. Can anyone tell me why?" He asked, Hermione shooting her hand up once again.

"Because if a child is conceived under the effects of a love potion, they are incapable of love."

"Correct! Now-" 

"That's not true," I interrupted. Everyone's heads turned to me, including Slughorn's.

"It's a fact, trust me to know more than you do," said Slughorn, raising his eyebrows at my behaviour.

"Oh, but it's not true. If it was, my father would never be what he is today. If my mother, who my father (that was conceived under a love potion) loved hadn't died, then the Dark Lord wouldn't exist and Tom Riddle would be living happily with his wife and child in a house on the edge of Little Hangleton. That's the facts, Professor." I grabbed my books and left the class , all eyes on me as I exited. 

It's safe to say that Slughorn is a judgemental prick.

On to better terms, it now meant I had a free period. I headed back to the common room, which was thankfully empty. I was about to sit down to read, when Hedwig came flying through the open window, dropping a note on my lap. 

_Dear Miss Snow,_

_Please come to my office, I have some things I would like to show you. I trust you don't need to be excused,_

_Professor Dumbledore._

How does he always know everything? I sighed and headed out of the common room, annoyed at my interruption of free time. The portraits stared in suspicion as I walked towards his office, their eyes seemed to follow me wherever I went. I was the latest gossip, in the portrait's minds.

I found the eagle stairway open, in no need of a password to enter. I slowly entered the Illuminated office, curious to the whereabouts of it's owner. But I only found it empty, with nothing but a large penesive sitting on his desk. And to my surprise, the penesive contained a memory, swirling around inside the dish. In fact, two memories were swirling around in it, intertwining with each other in a curious pattern. 

My curiosity got the best of me, and I soon found myself placing my head into it, the memory forming around me. 

In front of me was an old, dark building. People walked around my invisible figure in clothing from the thirties, merrily chatting to themselves in ignorance of the building that lay before them, one I knew all too well.

The memorable sign of Wool's orphanage stood upon the gate before me, bringing back horrible memories to my mind. The scene soon changed to a familiar room,  _my room._ But the Dumbledore who stood in front of me was much younger, perhaps in his forties or fifties. And in my place, was a boy, who looked exactly like me with his name stitched into his shirt,  _Tom Riddle._

My eyes widened in surprise when my younger self appeared beside him on the bed, but the bed turned into a newer form of the room. And beside the young Dumbledore sat the Dumbledore I see today, dressed in the same clothes I wore those many years ago he came to visit.

The conversation was almost exactly the same, almost word for word.

"I can speak to snakes too... they find me... whisper things. Is that normal for someone like me?"

When we both spoke those words, the younger Dumbledore looked quite suspicious. But the older Dumbledore froze, eyes widening in surprise and fear. 

But what scared me, as much as Dumbledore was scared in the memory, was that I was exactly like my father.


	34. 33 - The Riddle that is Snow

"Why do you think I have called you here tonight, Emma?" asked Dumbledore from behind his desk. 

"To intimidate me?"

"No. Not to intimidate you. To educate you," he replied. 

"I know the rules.  _'Don't turn out like you father!'_  " I said, mocking the conversation I had with the Muggle Studies teacher earlier. He looked at me unfazed, like I was something to study. Although, my head kept racing back to the memories of me and my father meeting Dumbledore, and how identical we were.

"I am going to educate you about something entirely different."

"Like what? Dark Magic?" I said sarcastically back at him. He let out a little chuckle before heading over to a cabinet full of memories. Each and every one of the tiny glass vials had small names on them, marking to whom they belonged to. He reached in and grabbed one of them, pouring them into the now empty pensieve. 

"You are here today, to learn about your mother." I froze, never had that ever been the subject of a conversation with Dumbledore before - it was always about my father. 

"What would I want to know about my mother?" I asked curiously. I knew everything I needed to know about her, it was practically on the back of her Chocolate Frog card. 

"Perhaps, you would like to know, how your father met your mother?" he said. My eyes widened and I looked more closely at the memory on the glass.  _Isabelle Snow_ was engraved on the vial, the memory now swimming in the shimmering water of the pensieve. 

"How did you get that memory?" I asked curiously.

"Your mother gave me many memories. This was the first. Little did I know when she gave me these memories, she was going to have you many months later," he replied. I ducked my head into the water eagerly, wanting to know what these memories contained. 

_I found myself standing inside a compartment of a train; the Hogwart's Express. But the furnishing was old fashioned, and so were the children walking past. The thirties clothing filled the hallways; boys in knee high socks and the respectable girl's dresses that covered almost every inch of their skin._

_Soon the door was pushed open by a boy, who I knew to be my father, but was clearly no older than a first year. He took a seat by the window, where he quickly started reading books quite advanced for his level. The horn blew, and the train began to move - not that I could feel it. A knock on the door was soon heard, and a girl with long black hair and dark blue eyes, no older than my father in the memory, pushed it open._

_"May I sit here?" she asked politely. He nodded, not looking up from his book as he leant against the window. She shut the door behind her, sitting down across from him._

_"What's your name?" she asked curiously._

_"Tom Riddle. Now if you don't mind, I am reading," he said in an annoyed tone. She looked taken aback at his bluntness, but chose to ignore him._

_"Well I'm Isabelle Snow. Pleasure to meet you Tom Riddle. What house do you think you'll be in?" she asked._

_"Slytherin," he smirked._

_"So sure? I don't know what house I'll be in."_

_"Very sure," he replied, putting the book he was reading down on the seat._

_"I don't think there should be a house system. Why try and sort individuals into four different groups, when we all have many qualities that do not necessarily relate to the house we are in?" she asked intelligently._

_"I never looked at it that way... I think we're going to be friends, Isabelle Snow," said my father, looking impressed._

_"I think we are, Tom Riddle."_


	35. 34 - Katie Bell

Many months had passed, and Ron had finally forgiven me (well, more I had forgiven him). The other students at school had also discover that I wasn't a murdering psychopath like my father, and I was perfectly safe to be around. Unfortunately, Slughorn still refused to acknowledge my existence and still glared at me from across the classroom. 

Christmas was approaching and the first snow of winter had arrived. Dumbledore had yet to inform me of another meeting, which had disappointed me. I was incredibly eager to discover more about my parent's relationship, but Dumbledore's absence from the school was proving difficult for both Harry and I. Harry had been given a task; befriend Slughorn. He seemed to have been doing a perfectly good job of it, yet Dumbledore had not asked anymore of him, which made us all confused at the point of it all.

Today we had a Hogsmeade trip, which was a good opportunity to escape from the drama that was school these days. But the topic of most conversations seemed to be the  _'Half-Blood Prince'._ It was an old potions book that had corrections and notes, that had made Harry perform incredibly well in all of his potions. He was almost at my level, which was making Hermione extremely jealous. She would constantly go on about how it was cheating and that he should hand it in. 

But another bickering between the two of them was interrupted by Slughorn, who was walking ahead of us, heading to the three broomsticks.

"Anyone fancy a drink?" asked Harry. I huffed in annoyance but agreed to go anyway; I would rather not be alone these days.

We took a seat inside the pub, directly in the view of Slughorn. But my eyes were somewhere else; Malfoy was heading out a door on the other side of the pub, a door I knew lead to the bathrooms. I had an erg to follow him, but was held back by Harry who had spotted him too. 

"Oh bloody hell," spoke Ron, clearly pissed off. I looked over in the direction he was looking, to see Ginny and Dean getting cosy in the corner. "Slick git," he muttered. 

"Honestly Ronald, they're only holding hands," said Hermione, who seemed quite ok with the match.  _The rebound match._ But Hermione's eyes then widened as Ginny and Dean got closer. "And snogging."

"I'd like to leave," said Ronald, obviously fuming.

"What? You can't be serious?" replied Hermione.

"That happens to be my sister!" he exclaimed.

"So? What if she saw you snogging Hermione, would you expect her to get up and leave?" I asked amused. But the conversation was then interrupted by Harry waving to Professor Slughorn.

"Harry, my boy!" he exclaimed.

"Hello, sir! Wonderful to see you!" replied Harry enthusiastically.

"And you!"

"So, what brings you here?" asked Harry, falsely curious.

"The Three Broomsticks and I go way back, further than I care to admit. I remember when it was just One Broomstick!" he laughed. "Listen, my boy. In the old days, I used to throw together the occasional supper party. For a select student or two, who you attended?"

"I would consider it as an honour, sir." I could almost pick up the sarcasm in his voice.

"Good! You'd be welcome too, Granger!" he exclaimed.

"I'd be delighted sir," she replied.

"Splendid! Look for my owl!" he said, clearly very drunk. He then turned to Ron, "Good to see you, Walemby." I suppressed my giggles, which immediately died when he gave me a weary look from across the table.

"What are you playing at?" asked Ron, still pissed at the previous comment.

"Dumbledore's asked me to get to know him," he replied.

"Get to know him?" said Ron confused.

"I don't know. It must be important, if it wasn't Dumbledore I wouldn't ask."

We exited the pub and headed back to the carriage along the snowy pathway. Harry and Ron were talking in hushed voices behind us, while Hermione bickered on about something I wasn't paying attention to. My attention was taken by the odd conversation coming from Katie Bell and another Gryffindor girl in front of us.

"Katie! You don't know what it could be," exclaimed the Gryffindor who I never learnt the name of.

"I know what I'm doing," exclaimed Katie, who looked like she was on a mission. I chose to ignore it, putting my arm around Harry's shoulder while Hermione did the same in between them. But our moment of bliss was interrupted by a dreadfully loud scream up ahead, making us stop in our tracks.

"I warned her. I warned her not to touch it," whimpered the terrified Gryffindor up ahead. Katie Bell was lying on the ground, unconscious. Her figure soon started to move around on the ground, before being thrown up in the air by an invisible force. She looked like she was trying to scream, but no noise escaped her mouth. She suddenly collapsed in a heap on the ground, her figure still and silent.

"Don't get any closer. Get back. All of you," boomed Hagrid, who had come up behind us and obviously seen the event. He walked forward slowly, examining her unconscious figure before picking her up like she was as light as a feather. 

Harry and I's attention was soon drawn to the package she was carrying. It was open, a large opal necklace was lying on the snow. 

"Don't touch it! It's cursed," I exclaimed as Harry moved towards it. I drew out my wand, moving slowly towards it and levitating it in the air in front of me. I could feel darkness running up and down my arm, making my wand feel heavy to hold in my hand. I set it down slowly into its box, before closing it with magic. 

"I think Katie's lucky to be alive," I said, before picking up the package and heading up to the castle behind Hagrid.

^%#%^

"You're sure Katie did not have this in her possession when she entered the Three Broomsticks?" asked Professor Mcgonagall.

"It's like I said: she left to go to the loo and when she came back she had the package. She said it was important, that she would deliver it."

"Did she say to who?" asked Mcgonagall, worry laced in her voice.

"To Professor Dumbledore," she replied. My eyes widened,  _someone's trying to kill Dumbledore?_

"Very well. Thank you Leanne, you may go."  _So her name is Leanne._ She then turned to us four, sighing in annoyance.

"Why is it, when something happens it is always you four?" she asked.

"Believe me Professor, I've been asking the same question for six years," replied Ron.

"Five," I corrected. 

"Oh, right. Five with Emma," he said. 

"Right, you may go," she said, shooing us out of the room.


	36. 35 - Captured Snake & Hermione's Wounded Heart

_Flashback..._

It all started with the after party. Gryffindor had won against Slytherin, thanks to Ron who had saved every goal. Or should I say, thanks to Harry for tricking him into thinking that Harry gave him Liquid Luck. The Gryffindor Common Room was packed with students of all ages, cheering as Ron was lifted up onto the shoulders of two seventh years.

"Weasley! Weasley!" we all cheered, one of the very few happy moments of the year. Only for it to disappear very quickly. Lavender grabbed Ron and started snogging him, which he happily returned. Wolf whistles erupted in the room on top of the cheers; but I knew immediately how much drama this would cause. And not to my surprise, I saw Hermione running out of the room, a distraught look on her face. I was about to follow her, when I saw Harry was already on it, so I let them be.

_Now..._

"He can kiss whoever he likes," said Hermione, trying to mean it. "I really couldn't care less. Was I under the impression that we would be attending Slughorn's Christmas Party together, yes. Now, given the circumstances I've had to make other arrangements."

"Have you?" I asked surprised, Harry seemed to think the same.

"Yes. Why?"

"Well. Seeing as you and Harry can't go with who you really like to - as I can't stand being around that bloody oaf - you should go together, as friends," I said, slightly annoyed that Harry would now have to take another girl. 

"Ugh, why didn't I think of that?" she exclaimed annoyed.

"Who are you going with?" Harry asked curiously.

"Um, it's a surprise," she replied, but was clearly very annoyed. "Anyway, it's you we've got to worry about. You can't just take anyone, half the girls in the school are 'in love' with you."

"Well then, I'll ask someone I like. Someone cool, but just has friendship on their mind."

"Like who?" asked Hermione.

"Luna Lovegood," he replied.  _Good, that's someone I approve of._

*

I'm just going to tell you straight up; there is nothing more disgusting than Lavender Brown's drawing of a heart with  _R + L_ written on it. Especially on a train compartment door window. Hermione seemed to think the same; as we passed their compartment and saw the drawing, she had a look of pure disgust written all over her face. But then again, she took Cormac to the party which is also pretty disgusting. 

Thankfully, christmas was around the corner to lighten our moods. I don't think I had eaten as much sugar in my life before I experienced a Weasley christmas. I had to watch out for the candies though, Fred and George had put some of their concoctions into many of them. Ron was hilariously the first to discover it. Big red pimples seemed to suit him. 

But what concerned me more was Ginny's depressed mood. No one seemed to have noticed; but I knew better. She had dark circles under her eyes, her cheerful mood was missing and her pigmy puff wasn't making her laugh anymore.

But my thoughts were soon interrupted by a frustrated Harry climbing the stairs, obviously pissed about something. 

"What's wrong?" I asked, running my hand down his arm.

"Lupin doesn't believe what I say about Malfoy." I frowned,  _he's still got his mind on bloody Malfoy._

"It's christmas, take a break from it all. You need to have some fun!" I exclaimed. He sighed, but soon after a large smirk appeared on his face.

"What kind of  _fun?"_ he drawled. I slapped him over the back of the head,

"Harry James Potter!" I exclaimed, but couldn't control my giggles that were threatening to emerge. He put his lips lightly on mine, savouring the moment. As we pulled away, I looked out the window into the large corn fields that surrounded the burrow. It seemed awfully quiet, too quiet. I squinted looking closely at something I thought I had seen move.

"Emma? What's wrong?" Harry asked confused from behind me.

"I swear I just saw something out there," I said. He turned me away from the window, putting his hands on my hips and stared down at me.

"Stop panicking. We are perfectly safe," he said, brushing a hair out of my face. I sighed, before reaching up to give him a kiss, only to see an enormous fire erupt around the burrow. 

Our eyes widened at the flaming fury, terror running through our veins. And it only got worse when Bellatrix Lestrange appeared at the front of the house, with a psychotic smirk on her face. While I was distracted by her terrifying figure, Harry had began to run down the stairs and I knew why.

"Harry, NO! Don't go after her!" But it was to late, he was already running towards her across the yard, Remus trying to stop him. I ran after him, jumping through the fire as I chased the loud shrilling voice screaming.

"I KILLED SIRIUS BLACK! I KILLED SIRIUS BLACK! YOU COMING TO GET ME?" she screamed, knowing it would provoke Harry. But suddenly her voice died down, along with the sounds of running. I stood completely still, my wand out to protect myself from any on coming attackers. 

But I wasn't quick enough, because my wand suddenly flew out of my hand and I was passing out on the floor. My last thoughts were realising what this was all about.

Bellatrix didn't scream that to lure Harry out to kill him. She screamed it because she knew I would follow Harry.


	37. 36 - The Malfoy Manor

I was slightly confused when I first woke up. I was staring at a black celling, lying on a cobble floor. It was incredibly cold; I was shivering almost instantly. It took me a while for to remember what had happened, but it came in one big rush. Fucking Bellatrix Lestrange. 

I stood up, trying to ignore the stiffness in my muscles. I observed my surroundings, taking in the odd atmosphere. I was clearly in some sort of basement, with a barred door leading up to the only source of light. 

"Hello?" I said, rather loudly. I received no answer; just the sound of water dripping from the other side of the basement. I headed towards the barred door, hoping it would lead to the outside world. But to my dismay, the door was bolted shut - and I was missing a wand. 

"Fuck," I cursed. I tried picking it open with a bobby pin in my hair, but it was clearly locked with magic as it failed to click open. I tried to calm myself down, channeling inner magic to try and open the door - only to find I had failed miserably. 

"Smart, but not smart enough." I froze, the deep raspy voice echoing throughout the dark basement. I turned around to see the pale, bald and noseless figure of my father appearing from the darkness.

"Voldemort," I stated, glaring at the figure.

"Now now Emma, I thought we were on better terms than that. I'm your father, after all," he replied amused.

"My father's name was Tom Riddle. He died a  _long_ time ago." I saw him flinch at the name, one I knew that also belonged to his muggle father.

"Yes; but someone much greater came from his death. The most powerful wizard on earth," he exclaimed.

"Dumbledore is the most powerful wizard on earth, you know that," I said cooly.

"Not for long. He will soon be dealt with." I widened my eyes, confused at what he was implying.

"You are going to try and kill Dumbledore?" I asked in disbelief, and somewhat amused.

"It is an easier task than you would think it to be, Emma. And I myself will not be doing the deed, I have left that to others. My soul focus is now on  _you,"_ he said, admiring me like I was a deadly weapon of his.

"Well, I hate to break it to you, but I have no interest in helping a psychopath kill my boyfriend," I replied wittily. He face soon turned to one of anger, glaring in hatred at me.

"You and  _Potter._ How did someone of such royal blood be involved with a  _mudblood's_ child?" he seethed. 

"Last time I checked, you had more muggle blood than he did!" I shouted, only to be thrown hard against the concrete wall. I screamed in pain as I heard a crack travel up my spine, my body on fire.

"You will not talk to me like that!" he screamed, towering over my limp body.

"Look what we have here; father of the year. My my, I see why mother left you now. You really are a narcissistic, arrogant piece of shit!" I hissed through my teeth, my body in agony. I saw the pain flash through his eyes, before returning to a look of anger.

"You know nothing about your mother and I," he hissed back.

" _'I never looked at it that way... I think we're going to be friends, Isabelle Snow. I think we are, Tom Riddle.'_ " I hissed, mocking the conversation that Dumbledore had shown me many weeks before. His eyes widened in disbelief, his face paling slightly.

"How much do you know?" he hissed worriedly.

"I know how you met. I now see why she left you too," I said, black spots covering my vision. He suddenly disappeared from right in front of me, apperating to god knows where. My vision was fading, but I could still remember the look in his eyes.  _What did he think I knew? And why was he so worried about it?_

_^%#%^_

**Ginny's POV (I know, this is different)**

The Room of Requirement surrounded me, taunting me with my own memories. Dumbledore was dead, and it was Draco's fault. He left me last summer, shattering my heart into a million pieces. I didn't know why until now. He ignored me all year. I didn't know why until now. The night before the murder he had come crying to me; I had woken up naked in his arms the next morning, only for him to go back to ignoring me that day before the murder. I didn't know why until now. 

I couldn't come back next year. I had to disappear. I would be shunned by both sides, the good and the evil. Or were the good really good? Even if they knew my secret. The large cabinet stood in front of me, towering over my figure. My purse was stuffed with all the supplies I needed, an un-detectable extension charm placed upon it. 

I opened the dark cabinet's door, stepping inside and shutting it behind me. Muttering under my breath the charm, while swallowing a mouthful of Polyjuice Potion. I opened the door again, to find myself in an empty Borgin and Burkes. I quickly headed out into the silent dark alley, spinning on the spot quickly, apperating with no particular location in mind. 

I appeared in an empty street I could not recognise, with a unfamiliar street name plastered upon a sign above me. I headed upwards, the muggle surrounding only lit by a few street lights. Yet somehow, the sky was illuminated over the top of the hill I seemed to be climbing. The road soon ended, turning into a grassy pathway heading to a tree that sat atop it. My shoes sunk into the grass, green staining them as I took each step. I could hear chirping in the bushes, an earthy smell entering my nostrils. 

I was only steps away from the top, staring out into the sky, only for my eyes to widen at what was upon the hill. The light of the city shone brightly, the boulevards and balconies alive with excitement. An enormous structure stood out, right in the heart of the city. It's long structure pointing at the sky. Lit up by thousands of little lights, grasping the attention of everyone in its sight. A tower she all to well recognised from the tales that Fleur would tell of the muggle world of her country.

She held her hand over her stomach, happy for once they would be safe in none other that the City of Lights and Love.  _Paris._


	38. 37 - Escape

When I woke up, I immediately noticed that I was no longer on the hard cement floor of the basement. Instead I was on a soft mattress, with silky green sheets under me and a enormous luxurious room around me. It looked incredibly  _Slytherin_ like, which wasn't surprising as I assumed I was still at the Malfoy Manor. I was also no longer in the extreme pain I had passed out in;  _he probably got someone to heal me._

A tray of food was at the end of the bed, with ravishing foods upon the plate. I was incredibly hungry, having not eaten in days. But I wasn't fooled at all, no one would ever give me food without an ulterior motive. I assumed there was some form of potion - possibly Vertiserum - in the goblet on the tray. 

So to avoid the temptation, I distracted myself by trying to find a way out. The door was obviously locked, as was the window, but an ancient manor of a prestigious pureblood family had to have some sort of secret passages right? Wrong. I had searched behind shelves for secret doors, loose floorboards and even knocked the walls to see if any were hollow. All had failed. 

It was then I noticed some odd looking books perched upon the shelves; I had never seen any of these before - not even in the restricted section. I ran my hand along the tattered spines, reading rather disturbing titles while I did.  _'The Muggle Disease', 'The Darkest Arts'_ and _'A Guide to Torture'_ were just a few to name. I was disgusted, to say the least. But it was then I saw a rather interesting book, hidden behind the others. I pulled it out and dusted it off, my eyes widening as I read the title.  _'Horcruxes'._ She knew exactly what they were at what they did, although the specific details were never mentioned anywhere in the Hogwarts Library. Not surprising due to how dark that magic is. 

But it turns out the answers were in the palm of my hand. Because as I flicked through the pages of the book, the spell, the process, the  _warnings;_ were all there. How the Malfoy Manor had such a book, I don't know. It was clearly hidden on purpose; so someone didn't want it to be found. Whether or not that someone had actually  _made_ them or not.

But my attention was soon taken when I heard a loud crack from behind me. I whipped around to see a very familiar house elf with bright green doe eyes staring up at me.

"Is Miss Snow in need of service?" squeaked Dobby. I quickly stuffed the book back into the hiding places, before sighing in relief as I saw Dobby holding out my wand to me.

"Dobby, thank god!" I exclaimed. He gave me a knowing look, before holding out his hand to me to grab. I quickly grabbed on, feeling the familiar pulling sensation as we aparated out of that hell hole. I expected to be lead to the burrow, or perhaps Hogwarts. But I was surprised when I landed in a busy street, with everyone around me speaking french. All I had was a wand in my hand, that I quickly hid in my pocket. I was clearly in muggle territory; and with the Eiffel Tower in sight I was also in Paris.

"Why on earth did you take me here Dobby..." I muttered under my breath. The house elf had clearly not tagged along for the ride, leaving me alone in Paris with nothing but a wand. My french wasn't great either - which wouldn't help. 

I quickly began to move along the crowded street, looking for any sign of magic. But I was rather disappointed, having seen to signs of an entrance to the magical world. But as I looked around, I could smell fresh bread and sugary treats, begging me to try them. I don't think I could remember the last time I had eaten, so I quickly entered a bakery with thousands of treats lining the window. It certainly did smell delicious inside, the treats in this store could rival Hogwart's desserts. I grabbed a napkin as I looked, secretly transfiguring it into muggle  _euros._ I then grabbed asked for an enormous amount of food. From fresh bread to custard tarts to pain au chocolates. There was nothing I didn't buy. The man at the front was shocked, to say the least. But when I passed him a thousand euros to pay for it all, his eyes lit up - quickly giving me some change before I left the shop. 

I cast a undetectable extension charm on my pocket, something Hermione had taught me.  _Hermione._ It must have been months since I last saw her. It's been months since I last saw Harry. And Ron. And Ginny. A sudden wave of depression hit me as I headed to the tower I once dreamed of visiting. Chewing on a croissant, I finally made it to the balcony of the tower, the view of Paris in the daylight proving to be spectacular. I couldn't imagine what it would look like at night. I finished another tart, before heading back down to find a place to stay tonight. But as I shuffled through the crowds, I saw a wand sticking out of someones pocket, well in front of me.

I quickly slipped my wand out pushing past people to reach the figure, someone who could possibly be a deatheater. I followed them for a while, their hair and face shielded by a black coat. It wasn't until they were in an empty street that I grabbed their back and flipped them around, holding my wand to their face.  
  
It was Ginny.


	39. 38 - The City of Love

"Remind me how Malfoy knocked you up?" I exclaimed, sitting across from Ginny in her small, hidden apartment.    
  
"I told you before! He was... sad and yeh..." she muttered. I raised my eyes at her pathetic excuse, fighting the urge to blurt out a million inappropriate words in her face. 

"Does your family know? You're supposed to be a Hogwarts! The Death Eaters will think you're with Harry, Ron and Hermione. If they find you, you're screwed!" I shouted, fuming at her. "Why couldn't you just stay with your mother at home? It would stop them from hunting you and you would be looked after properly!"

"Well that would go well! 'Hi mum, our families worst enemy's son knocked me up and he doesn't know. Oh yeh! I've was in a relationship with him from 4th year to the beginning of 6th year, behind all of my family's back. Then I had a one night stand with him and what do you know, I'm sixteen and pregnant!'" she shouted sarcastically. Her nostrils were flared and her face was beat red, it was so amusing to look at I burst out laughing. 

"Well aren't you moody today?" I smirked. She let out a weird, raging noise before stomping into her room and slamming the door. My attention soon turned to a small buzzing sound on the kitchen bench. I walked over to the radio, turning up the volume. My mood suddenly changed at the solemn announcement.

 _"15 deaths today, 5 missing muggleborns and still no sign of the chosen one. Still on the missing list: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Emma Riddle, Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood, Dean Thomas..."_ I shut the radio off, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in my stomach. 

People are dead because of my father.

Innocent people. 

Sometimes that overwhelming feeling of guilt can fill you up, even if it wasn't you who did wrong. The apartment was as silent as ice, except for the racing voices I could hear in my head. I hadn't seen Harry in almost a year. I often wondered where he was; what he was doing. Dumbledore had given him a task to complete, one that I didn't know about. I wasn't there to find out what it was, unfortunately. But never the less, I knew it was important. 

My thoughts were interrupted by Ginny opening the door, clearly having calmed down from her little outburst before. 

"When was the last time you saw them?" I asked curiously.

"Bill and Fleur's wedding. It was interrupted by deatheaters, they only just got away."

We sat in silence for awhile, before I retired to the spare room I was currently staying in. Tom Riddle was occupying my thoughts, never leaving me at piece. But then again, how much of Tom Riddle was really left? 

All I dreamed about that night was the memories that Dumbledore had showed me of Tom Riddle.  How he first met Tom Riddle; how my  _mother_ first met Tom Riddle. By morning, after having little to no sleep, I had made up my mind.

I had to know more.

I made eggs for Ginny, who had scoffed them down like the cliché knocked up woman would do. But while I was packing my bags up in my room, I thought about what Ginny would have to do eventually. Deatheaters would kill her and her baby if they found them, before or after it was born. The only way she would survive is if she talked to Malfoy. But then again, how would that Slytherin coward react to being a teenage parent. He'd probably just leave her, to be honest. I still have no idea how she can possibly love someone who did what he did to her. She was a complete wreck all of sixth year, and then when she finally thought they were getting back together he left her knocked up after participating in the assassination of Dumbledore. Classy. 

"What are you doing?" she asked, staring at me wide eyes.

"I need to go to Hogwarts. I have some information I need to find there," I defended.

"You can't just leave me here!" she exclaimed.

"I'm not leaving you. I'll visit alot. But in order for  _him_ to die I need to be at Hogwarts."

"But it's crawling with deatheaters!"

"I know that. I'm not stupid enough to be caught by those prejudice half-wits. I'll stay in the Room of Requirement, they'll never think of finding me there."

She struggled to find an arguement, knowing I had won. I gave her a hug before walking out the door of the muggle apartment, heavily protected by magic that I had casted. But before I aparated, I turned back to Ginny.

"If you get caught. Remember, your child is a Malfoy. That might not save you, but it will save your child." She nodded in return and I twisted on the spot, easily apparating inside the Room of Requirement. Dumbledore's anti-apparating spell had been destroyed when he had died, granting full access to anyone at the school. I thought Voldemort was smarter than that; clearly not. 

I had expected the room to be piled high with junk and clutter, like it had a few years previously. But I was shocked at the site of bunks and hammocks, filled with sleeping students in them. Many of them I recognised as fellow Gryffindors, others were Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs. But there was not a Slytherin in sight. 

I heard shuffling behind me, so I whipped around to see a tall boy with black hair and a lanky frame staring at me with a lantern held up in his hand. He stared at me suspiciously, bringing the lantern to my face, his eyes widening in recognition. 

"Emma?" he spoke in disbelief.

"Neville?"


	40. 39 - Hogwarts Has Changed

"Emma?" he spoke in disbelief.

"Neville?" He stared suspiciously at me, with obvious conflicted emotions. 

"Don't worry... I'm on your side," I said, very wary of his hand hovering over his pocket.

"How do I know that's true?" he asked warily.

"Because I just came back from visiting Ginny. She's safe, happy and living the high life," I said, not mentioning her particular location. But surprisingly, he whipped out his wand and pointed it at my face.

"Where is she?" he spat, watching the sleeping students around him to make sure none had woken.

"All I can tell you is that she's safe. She left at her own free will... it's not like she was kidnapped. She just had somethings to... finish doing," I said, unsure of how to word it. Thankfully, he hesitantly lowered his wand, the dark look not leaving his face.

"What on earth would she need to sort out?" he said stubbornly, not getting the hint that I couldn't tell you.

"If I could tell you, I would've by now," I replied, rolling my eyes.

"Then what are you doing here if you're not trying to kill us?" he asked.

"I need to get into Dumbledore's office. There's information in there that I need urgently," I replied. But to my surprise, he started laughing.

"You honestly think it's possible to get into Snape's office? Trust me, I tried. Now they're hunting me down so I have to hide in here all year!" he exclaimed.

"I'm sure I could get into that office Neville. I have a few more... tricks," I smirked, thinking of all the horrible things I could do to the deatheaters. He looked offended, but I raised my eyebrows in response and he grumpily nodded.

"Won't everyone recognise you? Your on every 'Wanted' poster in the world, right next to Harry... where is Harry?" he suddenly asked.

"I have no idea," I said solemnly, my mood immediately dampened. He sighed and nodded, motioning for me to leave before the other students woke up.

I pushed open the large door, my wand raised in front of me as I headed towards Dumbledore's office. I casted a spell that made my foot steps silent and I quickly headed to Dumbledore's office. Hogwarts was much darker, the lively spirit it once held had disappeared, in it's place a dark, tense air filled the halls. I quickly hid behind a statue as a deatheater walked past, one that I new to by Alecto Carrow. I continued on, but forgot to check before turning a corner; because I had just bumped into Draco Malfoy.  

We both immediately raised our wands, his with a light on the end of it. His expression seemed conflicted, like he didn't know what to do. Turn me in or let me go. Surprisingly, he pulled on my arm, dragging me into the closet empty classroom. 

"What are you doing here?" he asked, fear laced in his voice.

"There is some business I have to attend to, so would you please -"

"Where's Ginny? he asked panicked. I stopped talking and just stared at him.  _He's worried about her._

"She's fine, now please -"

"Why isn't she here this year? What happened to her? No one knows where she is, regardless of what side they're on? Is she with Potter -"

"She's fine, as I said before. She left at her own free will. And no, she's not with the trio," I said, trying to give away as little information as possible.

"Did she leave because of me?" he asked in desperation. I couldn't answer to that, because it was half true, in some ways.

"Don't worry, it's nothing to worry about right now. Deatheaters can't touch her, I made sure of that."  _More like she made sure of that, by sleeping with a Malfoy._

"Why aren't you with Potter?" he asked.

"If you hadn't noticed, Malfoy, I was stuck in your house until a few days ago. You think I have any idea where they are? No, and nor do I need to know, I have other business to attend to. So I should be going now," I said. In truth, I had never seen Malfoy look so  _venerable._  But my mind soon set on the task of getting into the office, which was proving to be more difficult than I expected. There were two deatheater's guarding the door, not a surprising sight after news of Neville's failed attempt of getting in for whatever reason he wanted to so for.

I casted an imperious curse on both of them, ordering them to leave. They walked off in sync, completely oblivious to what they were doing. I cast an invisibility charm over myself, not as good as an invisibility cloak, but enough to keep me safe. For some reason, the gargoyle had opened for my invisible figure without needing a password, which seemed rather odd. Wouldn't the security be more... insane? Cleary not, as the door was open and the office was empty.

But my attention was fixed on a doe patronus standing by the memory cabinet.  _How does someone have the same patronus as me?_ I quickly headed over, the doe fading away as I reached the cabinet. I pulled it opened, gazing over the hundreds of vials, with many different names in alphabetical order. It wasn't hard to find 'Isabelle Snow', there were about ten vials of her memories that I eagerly grabbed and shoved in my pocket, shutting the cabinet again and heading to the door.

I ran as fast as I could back to the Room of Requirement, knowing I could find a pensive somewhere in there. Thankfully, I had no unexpected encounters on the way back. I had expected to enter the room to find everyone asleep as usual, but was unpleasantly surprised at finding the room lit up, with a hundred students with their wands raised at me.

Shit. 


	41. 40 - Trust

"What are you doing?" I asked, rather defensive of the multiple students with their wands raised at me.

"Why are you really at Hogwarts?" asked Neville, emerging from behind the students.

"I told you before, I have business here -"

"You're the Dark Lord's daughter. You're here to sell us out, aren't you?" spoke Collin,  _that stubborn boy._

"Are you kidding? I was here to retrieve some memories from Dumbledore's office, very important ones at that!" I said. I would've tried to stun them, but one against 50 odd students wouldn't be a very fair fight.

"What does  _he_ want with us?" spoke another, whom I didn't know by name.

"If it's  _him_ you're talking about, I would have no clue! I've been locked in a basement for merlin knows how long underneath the Malfoy Manor!" I said, rather betrayed by my fellow classmates.

"We don't believe you!" another shouted. I knew by now there was only one way out of this, so I took the cowardly way out; I apparated. 

Finding myself in a rather empty Weasley living room. Rather empty. Molly Weasley was sitting on one of the couches, staring at me in complete shock. She looked alot less joyful than she did all those many months ago. But, the house must have been fixed since that awful fire the deatheater's caused, before I was snatched up by that stupid  _bitch._

I had expected her to try throwing every spell she could at me, but she had done the opposite. I was never quite one for Weasley hugs, especially the surprise ones. So when she threw her arms around me it had defiantly shocked me, to say the least.

"Emma! Where have you been? I was so worried when they took you! Have you seen Ron, Harry and Hermione? They were all so worried about you! I've never seen Harry cry like that in my life! Now I only have the other four to find! Have you seen Ginny? How did you escape from them? Were you hurt?" 

The long ramble of question took me awhile to process, but I managed. Her emotional face was quite the manipulator, whether she knew that or not.

"I was in the Malfoy Manor but Dobby got me out... I'm fine. I haven't seen Harry and the others... I ran into Ginny... she's fine... just had a few... things to sort out. What do you mean Harry was crying?" I asked worried.

"He was so upset! He thought they would torture you until you changed sides, he wouldn't leave his room for days! Poor boy always blaming himself for things he can't control! What do you mean you saw Ginny? I thought she was kidnapped! She never said anything about leaving! She had us in tears! Why would she do that? We thought she was being used as leverage or maybe she'd been killed!" she seethed, both relieved yet angry at the same time.

"Ginny just had...  _very_ important things to deal with. She'll explain when the time comes, I guess. It'll make sense later. But more importantly, what have I missed?" I asked, desperate for any information that Ginny didn't mention.

"Well come sit! I made some tea, we can catch up!" she exclaimed rather enthusiastically. The warm familiar smell of the Weasley kitchen made me feel much safer than I had in many months, especially the two cups of tea placed on the long family table. 

"So, what do you know?" she asked, obviously excited to talk to someone.

"Dumbledore's dead... Snape's headmaster... the Deatheater's run Hogwarts... muggleborns are being hunted... Ministry's been taken over... that's about it so far."

"So you didn't hear about Bill and Fleur's wedding? It was absolutely wonderful, until those  _bastard_ deatheaters came and ruined it!" she spat. I was shocked at the language, she wasn't one to swear.

"Why?" I asked, horrified by the thought of it.

"They knew Harry was here! I knew they should've had a smaller wedding, it was far to dangerous -"

"So what happened afterwards?" I interrupted, desperate to know more. 

"Well, Hermione apparated them out after a very narrow escape. That was the last I saw of them. Everyone else escaped, but they left once they found out they had got out. Bill and Fleur now have a lovely house on the coast by the sea, it's absolutely beautiful -"

"Has anyone we know died?" I asked worried, not exactly interested in the whereabouts of Bill and his Veela. She went quite for a moment, before speaking up in a much quieter voice.

"Mad-eye died the night we moved Harry out of Privet Drive... the Deatheaters were tipped off by an insider. Hedwig died too..." she said sadly. The kitchen became very quiet, the regular warm feeling had disappeared for a moment.

"Well, he sacrificed his life for others. He would've died feeling proud. All we have to do is move on, I guess. Because life does go on. And we can't win this war if all we do is mourn," I said, trying to provide comfort - which I'm not the best at doing.

"Yes, I guess you're right. You seemed in a rush when you arrived? Where did you come from? she asked.

"I was at Hogwarts, trying to find something Dumbledore left for me. But it turns out less people trust me than I thought. Neville Longbottom has taken charge of Dumbledore's army and clearly has a hard time trusting me. I wasn't exactly in a good position with 50 odd students pointing their wands at me. Had to make a quick get away, to say the least!" I sneered, still annoyed by the situation.

"Don't blame them, it's hard to trust someone with your heritage to actually be good. I didn't trust you at first..." she muttered.

"Then why do you trust me now?"

"I see the way you look at Harry... it's the same look Hermione gives Ron, just far more obvious," she smiled. I raised my eyebrows,  _so it wasn't just Harry and I that could see it._ "So, why did you find yourself here?"

"Do you happen to have access to a Penesive?"


	42. 41 - Midnight Memories

The Chamber of Secrets surrounded me, the snake statues lining the long path to an enormous statue of Salazar Slytherin. How I knew this was the Chamber, I don't know. But I wasn't alone; a young man I knew to be Tom Riddle was pacing slowly in the Chamber, as though he was waiting for someone. I guessed correctly, as the familiar face of my mother (although much older) stepped through a door behind me and walked swiftly on the tiles of the chamber, water soaking her shoes.

"Why did you want me here Tom?" she asked, clearly annoyed. "I'm pretty sure I made it very clear, I want nothing to do with you and your stupid plans. I'm not a murderer, nor to I intended to be associated with one!"

"How nice to see you to, Isabelle. Did you have a good holiday?" replied Tom, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"Oh, enough with the false curtsies. What do you want?" she snapped. Never had I imagined my mother to be a feisty character, it was actually quite entertaining.

"The only copy of the book I need is in your family Manor. But you already knew that, didn't you? I would _appreciate_ itif you could fetch that book for me _,"_ he said smoothly, manipulation in his voice.

"You want to make Horcruxs, which is against the laws of nature. And you know that the laws of nature are far more important to me than any other person in the world!" she exclaimed.

"I am very aware of your ties to the earth. I know what Merlin's blood does to you, but regardless of your role on earth, you must understand where I am coming from!" he exclaimed back. 

"Your failure to understand that there are things much worse than death has always been your greatest weakness, Tom Riddle," she replied frustrated.

"It is not a weakness! We could live forever and be the most powerful people on earth, who wouldn't want that?" he screamed, his loud voice echoing across the chamber.

"I wouldn't want that! Death is how the world works, it's how it functions! You can't live forever, it's what  _Merlin_ insisted upon. That's why he got rid of the Foul's stupid books in the first place! You see what has happened to Azkaban, do you  _really_ want to end up half-mad and surrounded by dementors because you want to be immortal?" she screamed back.

"That's not how Horcrux's work. Herope the Foul was an idiot who didn't know what he was doing in the first place, I know what I am doing and I will rule the world!"

"What about me? Am I not enough for you?" she said quieter, now sobbing. Something inside Tom seemed to snap; his arms were suddenly around her.

"Of course you're enough for me," he said softly," but everyone wants something more."

She didn't respond, but just kept sobbing into his chest. The scene seemed to fade away, forming into the next memory, in more of a homey setting. My mother was sitting in a chair, tapping her feet irritably on the floor, while watching the door for a while, until a man walked through the door. They both looked exactly the same age as they were before, but a Daily Prophet with the date  _Tuesday 4th September 1979_ suggested it had been a  _very_ long time since the two had been at school sometime in the 1930s. 

"Where have you been Tom?" she asked softly, watching his figure as he removed his cloak and walked over to her.

"I have been with my followers, but you already knew that? You're tapping your foot again, what's bothering you?" he asked, mildly concerned.

"Maybe it's the nights when you don't come back and I worry for hours on end that you've been caught? Maybe it's the nights I sleep alone, scared that someone might come in the middle of the night? I don't know, what on earth would be bothering me?" she muttered sarcastically.

"Someone's pissed off," he smirked sarcastically, before pulling her onto his lap and  _kissing her._ Watching your parents snog in a memory... well that's not awkward at all! Thankfully the memory changed again, this time the figure of my mother quickly throwing a few things into a small pouch before running out the door and apparating, although I seemed to apparate with her. She appeared in front of a small house surrounded by an empty field.

"Sirius," she said loudly as she banged on the door. The door flung open to see a much younger figure of the man I once knew, who pulled her inside and sat her down on the chair. 

"Why are you here Isabelle? Do you know how dangerous it is with Deatheaters?" he screamed.

"I'm very aware Sirius, but you need to help me. Where is the safest house I can go? Voldemort is after me, I can't tell you why, but I need safety and quickly," she said, ignoring his outburst.''

He studied her face for a minute, before replying back to her in a curious tone.

"You could go to Lily and James' place in Godric's Hollow. They just found out they're expecting a child, you should be safe there," he responded. She nodded standing up and apparating on the spot before he could say goodbye. The scene changed once again and she found herself in another living room, rushing into a Red Head's arms. But to my dismay the scene faded, and the next memory appeared. A floating figure stood in a meadow, with a face identical to my mother's.

" _Take me now, Death. For I must die again to truly die,"_ she said. A black figure, similar to a dementor although much larger in size swooped down and wrapped it's clock around the figure, before disappearing off into the sky. The memory faded to black, and I felt the familiar feeling of being pulled back out of the penesive. But not before I saw a figure watch her as she faded off into the sky.


	43. 42 - In Death

I gasped as I exited the penesive, falling back onto an armchair as I tripped on my feet. The memories swirled around in my head, some more than others. I felt like I was reliving it all, although I had never lived it in the first place. 

The Chamber of Secrets. 

_Isabelle knew._

The book in the Malfoy Manor.

_The book Tom wanted._

Not ageing a day.

_Horcruxs._

Death.

_Take me now, Death. For I must die again to truly die._

The Tales of Beatle the Bard.

_The Tale of The Three Brothers._

Everything was beginning to make sense. The book I found in the Malfoy Manor was the book Tom needed, and clearly got his hands on. They must've both made Horcruxes, but how did Tom convinced her? She had completely opposed the them. One thing was for sure though; Tom Riddle was a manipulating and callous little bastard. He defiantly knew how to use his words to get what he wanted, which is probably how he convinced her to give him the book. A part of me thinks that he never loved her, but it's hard to believe due to the flinch he makes every time someone mentions her. 

The only part of everything I had just learned that  _definitely_ didn't make sense was Death. Every child born and raised in the Wizarding World knows 'The Tales of Beatle the Bard'. But it was just a bedtime story - or so I thought. The similarities between the memory and the tale couldn't be a coincidence. But what did she mean by  _die again?_ None of it made any sense. Especially the figure that was watching her. It couldn't have been Tom; he was dead (well, half dead) before she was born. But whoever it was, they knew something.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of something smashing downstairs. I whipped out my wand, rushing down the narrow stairs to the bottom floor, where a petrified Molly Weasley was standing, a broken plate at her feet. But instead of a Deatheater, like I assumed, Ronald Weasley was standing in the living room, looking very pissed off. 

"I expect to come home to a warm house filled with family, instead I come home to my mother hosting the Devil's child," he spat, glaring daggers at me.

"How nice to see you to, Ronald. I thought you got over that," I sneered back, very offended.  _I thought he had changed._

"Well not anymore. Don't blame you for being so bloody horrible though, you're just like your  _boyfriend,"_ he exclaimed. 

I raised my eyebrows, working out the situation rather easily in my head.  _Ron got pissed off with Harry because he thought it would take less time to kill Voldemort than it was taking. Probably felt rather useless seeing as Hermione and Harry are the only one's who ever seem to get anything done. He left. But being Ron, he will eventually get his shit together and go running back._

"Why don't you let your lovely mother, who you have yet to greet, give you a nice dinner. Maybe she'll feed you like baby! But then again, that's what you are," I taunted, heading back upstairs, knowing he would try to jinx me if I pushed him too far.

Ron and I's friendship was a pretty sad one. He was a pretty good friend; right up until he found out who my father was and it all went to dust. But I guess the friends that stuck with me were the ones that were actually my good friends. Hermione was an exception; although she didn't stick by me, she didn't ridicule me. And the only reason she didn't support me in the first place was so she could impress Ron. That's the only reason I didn't hex him there and then, to be honest. Oh, and the fact the a shocked Molly Weasley was standing right next to me. I don't think she would like anyone hexing her son, no matter how much of an arsehole he was being.

I quickly packed me things, knowing he would be staying here for a while. I wasn't going to risk being under the same roof as someone with a lot of anger towards me. But then again, more like he shouldn't risk being under the same roof as me. My magical abilities range much further than his; I dream of the day that I can knock him onto his arse with a spell.

I grabbed a quill and ink, writing I short note to Molly before I left the house I had only been in for a few hours.

_Dear Molly,_

_Thank you for having me, but the last thing I need is to be around Ron right now. When he finally gets his shtuff together and goes back to them tell him to tell Harry I love him._

_Emma._

I left it on the table, pulling my wand out before spinning on the spot. As expected, I found myself in the familiar surroundings of Ginny's flat. I walked up the narrow stairs to the doorway, removing the spell I had originally cast and walked in the door, quickly re-casting the spell.

"Emma? Well you're back quicker than expected," muttered Ginny, clearly having a bad day. She looked pretty bad since I last saw her. The dark circles under her eyes had deepened and her hair was greasy and unkept. The only arguably nice part of her appearance was the obvious stomach that had formed, and the delicious looking pancakes on the table.

"What's wrong, you look down?" I said, as nicely as I could.

"I look like shit, just say it," she snapped.

"Ok... you look like shit. Happy?" I asked amused.

"No. As I waste away, Draco's probably having the time of his life -"

"Oh he is most certainly not, trust me. I ran into him while he was at Hogwarts."


	44. 43 - The Dead Child

The Forbidden Forest was far more intimidating at night. As I apparated into a clearing, I didn't expect it to be so dark. The new moon was barely visible in the sky, but I could still feel its eyes on me as I walked through the towering trees, with only the light of my wand to guide me. I wasn't sure exactly what I was looking for; but I was searching for something. The forest was deep, with mist lining the dirt floor. The trees were in almost aligned perfectly, with a straight path leading in every direction. It was bitterly cold, the reality of winter setting in. 

I found myself in another clearing, this one much larger than the previous. The ground sloped downwards, only flat in the centre. I could hear an owl hooting, making the hairs on my arms stick up. But it wasn't the owl I was scared of. It was the figure standing in front of me. 

"My sweet child," the voice echoed, the almost human like figure floated towards me. I knew her face to be my mother's, meaning this situation was not reality.

"How are you here?" I asked, curiosity erupting on the inside.

"It is not how I am here, but how  _you_ are here. I assumed you'd come sooner," she said, staring down at me fondly.

"But you're dead," I stated, my voice echoing around the forest.

"I've been dead for over fifty years, Emma. You were born many years after I died..." she replied, mist building up around our feet.

"That's impossible," I muttered. Perhaps if I was in my right mind this conversation would have gone very differently, for the words seemed to pour out of my mouth before I could process them.

"Ah, but it is. You've been dead since the day you were born, Emma."

"But I'm alive," I exclaimed, my brain messing with my thoughts.

"Yes, you are alive.  _But you're also dead._ "

^%#%^

I gasped for breath, my eyes wide as I woke from the dream, or nightmare. It couldn't possibly be real, just my thoughts messing with me. I quickly escaped the covers I was roasting beneath, heading out into Ginny's kitchen, where I quickly gulped down multiple glasses of water. The cool liquid travelled down my throat, a relieving feeling travelling over my skin.

"You ok?" asked Ginny, who had just excited her bedroom. Her hair was a birds nest and dark bags under her eyes emphasising her exhaustion. 

"You should be asking yourself that," I said, placing my glass in the sink and washing the sweat beads of my head.

"I'm pregnant, it's kind of given," she muttered in defence.

"Go take a shower, you'll feel better, I promise." I grabbed her arm and dragged her lazy self into the bathroom, handing her a towel and shutting the door. I waited until I could hear water running, making sure she didn't cop out.

I took the time alone to reread 'The Tale of the Three Brothers', which had constantly been on my mind lately.  _For I must die again to truely die._ It had to mean something more than just having to destroy a horcrux she may or may not have made. Her mother didn't seem that... submissive. She wouldn't just rip her soul apart, killing someone in the process. But even if she had made a horcrux, it wouldn't make sense. 

She snapped out of her thoughts when the running water had stopped, clearly indicating that Ginny's twenty minute shower had finally finished. 

She still didn't know what to think of Ginny's situation. She was gobsmacked at Ginny's idea of living in hiding from everyone for the rest of her life, but Ginny seemed so serious about it. Like it was possible. But I'd made it very clear to her: she has to accept the consequences. Draco had to know soon, before his kid was born. 

I knew it was going to be me telling him. Ginny, not matter how up-front and brave, she wouldn't be able to do it. She would continue to procrastinate until it swallowed her whole, convincing herself Draco would never have to know. 

Unfortunately for her, I was going to tell him much earlier than she would expect. I had agreed with her to tell him after the war, but I knew how badly that would go down, seeing as the baby will be born much earlier than the end of the war, that seemed to go on forever. 

 _Harry_.

He was taking much longer than I expected him to take. So whatever Dumbledore had told him to do before his death, it had to be incredibly challenging and important.   
Sometimes I wondered if it was worth the heartache; Voldemort was going to kill many of our friends before the war was over, regardless of who was going to win.  
Perhaps I was being to negative. But I always seemed to look on the downsides of situations; lacking the hope my boyfriend held in his precious heart. He was a certain type of special, he was so  _innocent._ Maybe that's why I loved him. Because he was my opposite. I knew I was a Slytherin by both blood and personality; but I was placed in Gryffindor because Dumbledore made the sorting hat do so. That was probably the best decision Dumbledore had made in his life, just imagining my eleven year old self in Slytherin gave me chills. I would've been just like  _him._  Gryffindor saved me from morphing into a monster, they showed me love. 

Until they found out who my father was... but that was going to happen eventually.

Once again my mind travelled back to the dream I had experienced the night before, the vision of my mother coming back to haunt me. I knew that wouldn't be the last of the dreams, but all I had to do was reassure myself.

My mother was dead. I was alive. It was as simple was that.

Or so I told myself. 


	45. 44 - Knowledge is Power

The hallways were abnormally quiet, the shadows watching me as I slowly wandered through them. Hogwarts had never felt so... empty. It scared me, the mess  _he_ had made. I wasn't meant to be here either, but I had snuck out of Ginny's place during the night, knowing full well what I needed to do. Not only was Draco in the dark about her  _situation,_ but I was in need of some serious information.

The Library had always been my favourite part of the school, not being much of a flyer or adventurer. But tonight, I had not snuck into Hogwarts, putting myself in a deadly situation just to have a casual read in the Library, I had come for answers. It wasn't a coincidence, the dream. How on earth was I alive and  _dead?_

My mother clearly wasn't the most sane of people.

When I finally approached the entrance to the Library, I was pleased to see that there were no wandering deatheaters to stop me in my path. Tip toeing in, I quickly unlit the tip of my wand, the light of the moon through the large library windows was bright enough to guide me on my way to the restricted section.

Like usual, the lock was left undone and the door slightly open, practically inviting me to waltz on into shelves and shelves of quite literally dark magic. But dark magic wasn't exactly what I was here for.

I walked slowly towards the back of the shelves, a magical forces seemed to  _draw_ me towards it. I'd felt this feeling many times before, but it never seemed to result in anything out of the ordinary. The final bookcase stood high against the wall, running for twenty odd metres across. All of the books on this shelf were held in their place tightly by magic I myself did not know of. I often paced up and down it, the books were so  _alluring._ Perhaps it was the curiosity inside of me that made me feel so drawn;  _imagine_  the information those books contained. What could've possibly been so dark and dangerous to keep locked up for hundreds of years?

I knew it was impossible to release the books from their bindings, but I remember once -in a dream - my  _father_ sitting back here at the desk in the far right corner. That is why I was standing above the desk now, staring at the old mahogany wood with century old ink stains on it. I pulled out the chair, sitting down on the uncomfortably hard wood.

There was a perfect view of the school grounds from here. The lake glistened in the moonlight with a mysterious feeling. The forest seemed much darker than it ever had been, the uncomfortable feeling of the  _quiet_ starting to give me chills. 

I could still feel the  _pull;_ it made me turn my head towards the shelf, staring at the dark books with chains and dust heavily attached to them. It was so  _ancient._ And that was when my eyes saw it.

A piece of parchment. Folded up and squeezed between two books, but a small flap still poking out. My curiosity grabbed hold, my arm slowly inching it out of the shelf, very carefully as not to rip it. It looked old, but not old enough to completely fall to pieces as I unfolded it carefully in my hand.

The handwriting was very familiar, so similar to my own. It was neat and cursive, but it was the words that had me interested. 

_Powerful blood meets powerful blood,_   
_Born to broken souls._   
_A curse born from another curse,_   
_Never shall it be whole._

_^%#%^_   
_Third Person_

Draco Malfoy. A name that didn't  _quite_ fit the situation he had found himself in. Emma Snow had been very straight forward when he ran into her once again in the hallways. If he thought he fucked up last year by ignoring Ginny, he didn't know quite how bad the situation was going to be this time.

 _Draco Malfoy._ The teenage deatheater who knocked up his secret blood-traitor ex-girlfriend who he's still in love with and is expecting a child in a few months. Well that's gonna go down well with his parents. And the Dark Lord. And his Aunt Bellatrix. And all the deatheaters. 

_Well he really fucked up this time._

Despite his hatred for Potter, he sincerely hoped he would finally destroy the Dark Lord so he could work everything out without Ginny and their future child. But aside from the obvious elephant, Potter also had this magical power: keeping Emma Snow from unleashing her inner bitch.

Yet, the beads of sweat on his forehead and the tears prickling his eyes as his impending doom finally being processed through his head. 

_He was having a kid._

Definitely not planned. But neither was that night with Ginny at the end of sixth year. No wonder she had run away. He felt stupid for not realising until now. But he also wondered if her family and friends knew. And if they did, did they know the un-born baby was his?

Probably not, seeing as he wasn't dead yet. He couldn't imagine the sort of things the Weasley boys would do. He still wasn't sure how many of them there were, but he knew there were way too many for them to afford. But he also knew Ginny was the only girl, which means that god knows how many protective older brothers was the last thing he needed to deal with right now. 

What he needed to deal with was the sticky situation he had stupidly got himself into. And annoyingly, that probably meant getting hold of Emma Snow.


	46. 45 - Remembering

_Powerful blood meets powerful blood,_

_Born to broken souls._

_A curse born from another curse,_

_Never shall it be whole._

The dried ink on the parchment was still clear as day, despite being untouched for decades. The words seemed to be staring me straight in the face, the air suddenly becoming much colder than before.  _It had to be me._ The words were as clear as day: two people with powerful blood with broken souls have a cursed child who will never 'be whole'. Why a young Tom Riddle had possession of this knowledge, I'd probably never know. But it had to be a prophecy; the words just seemed to scream it. 

I felt as though everything didn't seem to quite add up, like I was missing out on some great tale that was never told. Something always seemed to appear out of nowhere, another clue or secret or lie that I had to uncover. Maybe it was because in truth, I knew very little of my parents - only the monster my father had become. Isabelle, my mother, was another even bigger mystery. Where did she come from? What about her family? How did she find herself in the position she was in? The questions were endless, most would remain unanswered.

And as I sat in the stiff chair in the far corner of the Restricted Section, gazing out upon Hogwarts grounds, I knew that everything would eventually come to an end, regardless of what the ending was. Unfortunately, the lack of Dumbledore had proved most troublesome over the many months he had been gone. Despite our lack of trust in each other, he was a brilliant mentor with all the answers when you needed them. And now, more than ever, I needed answers.

There was only one person in this world who knew those answers, if he had anything left of the person he used to be.

Tom Riddle. Or Voldemort. Or my father. Not much of a father though.

My sympathies had diminished very quickly for him over the course of my years at Hogwarts. I can remember how naive I was to think that he still had a heart in my first year (although in second year) of Hogwarts. He was a complete monster and had been a complete monster for many years. Maybe that's why my mother ran away when she found out she was pregnant (or so I heard), perhaps she was scared of what his reaction might have been. Now the knowledge of the prophecy he had written down so many years ago made me even more so confused at why he was looking into such matters. I guess in order to be a monster, you've got to have the brains to be a monster.  _A monster._ That's what he is.

But he's also a monster with all the answers.

How exactly I was going to have a little  _chat_ with my father, without being thrown into a cell and tortured for the whereabouts of my boyfriend whom I had not seen in almost a year - I didn't know. But once again, I had found myself tripping up on the ignorance of my sadness, my thoughts once again drifting to the image of the boy whom I was in love with - or loved as much as a cursed, broken soul could. It hadn't quite dawned on me until now that Harry was probably the deciding factor that had kept me from turning into a psychotic replica of my father. 

I had never had any love given to me as a child, and it was only until now that I realised how much it had scarred me. I refused to get attached to people, except for Harry and Ginny, whom my heart gave into. Even Ron and Hermione, whom I cared for very much, could not quite break down the bars to my heart. Why Ginny had, I would probably never know, but her lack of judgement despite knowing my identity for many years would definitely be a factor. I found it hard to feel sad when someone passed; despite how close I was to them. Even with Dumbledore, I couldn't quite feel the pang in your heart of losing someone. 

But Harry had woken up something inside of me the when I arrived in Hogwarts. I'm not sure what it was, but I knew that the part of me that was my father had been diminished the moment I laid eyes on him. His bright green eyes stared into my dark ones, a feeling of happiness I had never felt before arise in my stomach. I tried to ignore my feelings at first, but I knew it was meant to be. Reliving the memory made me miss him even more. Whatever the future held for us, I knew that we're meant to be. But it wasn't until now, travelling in my mind to the past, did I make a decision I would intend to keep.

If I ever have a boy, I'll name him Tom. And I'll make sure that he is loved and cherished from the day he is born; unlike that lonely, unloved orphan boy born sixty odd years ago, named Tom Riddle.


	47. 46 - Battle of Hogwarts

**_Many months later..._ **

I was staring out at Hogwarts; the students, teachers and the Order of the Pheonix creating a shield to defend themselves against the incoming darkness the watched from another hill across the other side of the lake. Ginny had sent a patronus, notifying me of Harry's sudden appearance at Hogwarts and Snape's cowardly escape. It wasn't long before the deatheaters responded, firing thousands of spell at the shield, the number of followers Voldemort seemed to have acquired was ridiculous - not to mention the magical creatures like giants that seemed to tower over the wizards. Soon enough, the quidditch pitch was on fire, the large towered stands collapsing to the ground as the psychotic deatheaters cheered in glee, so loud I could hear it from here. 

Soon a large group of deatheaters where crowded around the entrance of the south bridge, clearly not able to pass through the shield. But it was then a huge wave of power rippled through the air, a bright red spell shooting into the shield, shattering it to pieces. Not long after, while deatheaters began to charge across the south bridge, it mysteriously blew to pieces, with every deatheater unfortunate to be on it plummeting hundreds of feet into the darkness. 

Soon, giants were attacked the front bridge, with  _stone_ soldiers protecting the entrance to the school. Probably McGonagall's doing. Deatheaters where flying into the front courtyard, shooting hundreds of spells at the figures, setting alight the building with a huge roaring of flame. The front part of the school was soon collapsing, the glass windows shattered and ruble falling in from the ceiling. 

It was then I knew I needed to act. I quickly grabbed my wand, flying down in a mist of white among the flying black into the great hall of the school. Perhaps landing precisely in the middle wasn't such a good idea, as I was soon surrounded by deatheaters, glaring greedily at me, probably knowing neither my name nor true identity. Thankfully, Professor Flitwick, who had appeared from behind them took care of them before I had to do it myself. He didn't seem to remember my face, or didn't really care that the Dark Lord's daughter was standing in the middle of the Great Hall. Regardless, I began my search for Harry, defending myself against countless deatheaters along the way. It was then I ran into Draco Malfoy, the last person I wanted to see right now. Probably because his twin babies were lying asleep in an apartment in Paris, with only a muggle babysitter looking after them. Their mother was somewhere here too, yet clearly he hadn't seen Ginny yet or her wouldn't have screamed:

"Where is she?!"

"I don't know! But I know she's here!" I exclaimed of the loud screams and rumbles.

"Is the... you know..."

"Yes, you're kids are all right! She had twins, a boy and a girl! Now I have to go find Harry, don't get yourself killed!" I screamed, I was about to run when he halted me.

"Wait! He was outside the Room of Requirement a few minutes ago, we all nearly burt to death," he said quieter, the background noise having died down slightly. I nodded quickly, running in the proper direction, hopefully to meet him along the way. Thankfully, my prayers had been answered. He was walking down the hallway, completely oblivious to me standing in awe at the other end. 

"Harry!" I screamed, making him whip around in surprise.

"Emma?" he said, gobsmacked. I ran in his direction, wrapping my arms and legs around him in a hug, before smashing my lips to his in glee. He seemed just as relieved, smiling at me as he put me down. Our moment of happiness was soon interrupted by the wall beside us collapsing and crumbling to the floor. 

Harry quickly fumbled in his pocket, pulling out a folded envelop addressed to me inside of it. I looked at him confused,  _what on earth?_

"The snitch Dumbledore gave me... it had the resurrection stone and that letter crumbled up inside of it. I can't open it, so it must've been charmed for only you to read it. But I have to go now, we have to find the snake - it's the last horcrux," he said, Hermione and Ron appearing behind him. "Meet me in Dumbledore's office."

They then ran off, Harry giving me another kiss before he left. I stared down at the letter in curiosity and confusion, heading in the direction of Dumbledore's office, which I now knew to be empty due to Snape's escape. 

For some reason, the stairs had appeared without needing a password. But I ignored that, heading inside the office quickly, locking the door behind me. 

The office was surprisingly unchanged. The portraits of all of Hogwarts' previous headmaster still lined the walls, all of them sleeping soundly. The brilliant gold chair behind the desk was still there, along with all the colourful decorations and funny objects Dumbledore had lying around his office. It was almost completely untouched since I was last in this office; it was as though Snape hadn't been here at all. 

Taking a seat on the sofa on the other side of the large room, I fumbled with the seal of the letter, opening it eagerly. I wasn't prepared for what was inside.


	48. 47 - The Letter

_Dear Miss Snow,_

_From the moment I saw you, I knew exactly who you were. Having been the spitting image of your father, in both personality and appearance, I was afraid to let you attend Hogwarts. I had told the hat to sort you into any house except Slytherin, where you truely belong, because I didn't want you to turn into a replica of your father._

_As you know, it turned out to be the best for you. You and Harry seemed to have bonded very quickly within the space of a few weeks, that had resulted in the love you share today. However, it would feel unkind to leave you without answers you had probably been wanting for many years now. It took me many years myself to discover the truth, so I hope I can satisfy you._

_When you were born, you were not supposed to survive. A prophecy that was made over a hundred years ago should've seen to that, a curse should never be aloud to walk the earth. But your mother refused to have her innocent child die, so she let the part of her soul that remained in her human form transfer into you, making you her other horcrux. She had previously destroyed her first horcrux, leaving only half her soul on earth, in her human form. She asked Death, whom I presume you know of from my favourite child's tale, to take the rest of her mind from the earth, but left her soul to reside within you so you could survive. This is why you sometimes dream of your father when he was young, as you are looking into your mother's memories._

_Therefore, in reality you are already dead. Unfortunately, you will have to die again to truely free yourself from the bounds of earth. This means you must be killed. Harry must to, as a piece Voldemort's soul lays inside of him. Except Harry still has himself, so he will return to life. But he must not know of that, for he will never let you die without him as well._

_Unfortunately, some sacrifices must be made for a future worth having. You, unfortunately, must be the sacrifice. You must free both yourself and your mother._

_All will be well soon._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore._

 

"Emma?" a voiced asked, snapping me out of my gaze. Harry stood before me, a vial of memories in his hand. I quickly stuffed the letter into my pocket, knowing full well that what Dumbledore said was true and what had to be done now.

"What's that?" I asked, motioning to the vial of memories. 

"Snape's memories. C'mon, we don't have much time and something tells me we need to see these," he responded. I nodded, still in quite a daze from the astonishingly revealing letter. 

We put the pensive on the desk, Harry slowly pouring the silky blue substance into it. We looked at each other, before plunging our heads into the darkness.

 

The first memory was of two girls, one with red hair and bright green eyes like Harry's, the other whom was undoubtably Harry's horrible Aunt whom so mysteriously let me stay at her house for the summer. The other girl must be Lily, Harry's mother.

"You're a freak!" was all that Petunia seemed to constantly scream at her as she ran up a hill, where a boy who was undoubtably Severus Snape had appeared from behind a tree. 

_I had already suspected this many years ago._

The memories that followed only proved what I had discovered as a small second year; thoughts I most definitely kept to myself. He was in love with her. And James Potter clearly wasn't the nicest of people. But then it became darker, the truth unwinding in a memory from Dumbledore's office where Dumbledore explains to Snape that Harry and I must die, not however, revealing that one of us will return. Snape reaction was definitely not a happy one. 

And then the memory ended, forcing us out of the pensive and back into the real world. Harry was silent, staring into my eyes with mixed emotions.

"So that's it. We have to die," he stated, clearly no pleased.

"It's not whether we have to. It's whether we should do. And we both know that's the only way that Voldemort can die," I responded, my voice quiet.

"I love you," he said, out of the blue.

"I know. I love you too."

"Is it wrong to be scared?" he asked.

"No. But remember what a wise man once said; death is but the next great adventure."


	49. 48 - Sacrifices

_"Sometimes a hard sacrifice must be made for a future worth having. - Tom Branson, Downton Abbey._

**Narrator's POV**

The courtyard was silent. As the Dark Lord and his followers approached, walking across the long and rubbled bridge, Neville Longbottom and a large crowd of innocent people stared out as they approached, Hagrid carrying two figures in his arms. 

"Harry Potter is dead!" screamed Voldemort in glee, towards the silent and shocked crowd, none of whom made a sound. He then turned around and screamed the same words, and in response erupted howls of laughter. He then turned back to the crowd, who stood still in fear, anger and sadness. "And now, the time has come. Join me, or  _die._ "

Once again, the crowd stood in silence. It wasn't until the Malfoys spoke up that there was any reply. 

"Draco, come," spoke Narcissa, who had just put her life on the line by concealing vital information. 

Draco gulped, his eyes immediately darting from his parents to Ginny - not that anyone could tell.  _Maybe they'll let Ginny and them live,_ is all he was thinking as he approached the Dark Lord, whom had given him the most awkward of hugs, resulting in a priceless face from Dean Thomas. 

It wasn't long until another stepped forward, this one shocking the crowd far more than the youngest Malfoy. Neville Longbottom hobbled forward, ignoring the jibes from Voldemort and Bellatrix that had been thrown at him, immediately interrupting.

"I'd like to say something."

Voldemort looked rather taken aback and displeased, responding reluctantly: "Well Neville, I'm sure we'd all be fascinated to hear what you have to say."

"It doesn't matter that Harry's gone -"

"Stand down Neville," interrupted Seamus, who knew very well he was about to get himself killed.

"People die everyday," he continued, ignoring Seamus. "Friends, family... yeh... we lost Harry tonight. But he's still with us, in here," he motioned to his heart. "So is Fred, Remus, Tonks... all of them. They didn't die in vain!" he said louder, turning towards Voldemort. "But you will, cause you're wrong. Harrys' heart did beat for us, for all of us! It's not over!" he screamed, pulling Godric Gryffindor's sword out of the rugged old sorting hat he hand found in the rumble. 

But that was not what caught everyone's attention. Suddenly Harry's figure jumped out of Hagrid's arms, attempting to attack Nigini.

That's when all hell broke out.

**Later...**

The Great Hall was full of gleaming light; spells of every variety were shot in every direction. Deatheaters and Allies had both lost many. But for what was to come would be a shock for everyone.

After Ginny's close call with Bellatrix, she had found herself in an empty corridor, undisturbed by the mania happening just around the corner. She was taking a moment to catch her breath, leaning back against the cobble wall. Bellatrix had almost hit her, but unlike Fred, she managed to leap out of the way. 

But little did Ginny know, that Bellatrix wasn't going to let her go that easily.

"Look who it is... little ity bity baby  _Weasley,"_ giggled Bellatrix sadistically. Before Ginny knew what was happening, a large bolt of green light was shot in her direction, before Ginny could even process what was happening and defend herself. The green light was about to engulf her, when a figure jumped in front of her. 

"NOT MY DAUGHTER YOU BITCH!" screamed Molly Weasley from the other end of the hallway, making Bellatrix turn around, not having realised what just happened in front of her eyes. As Molly Weasley destroyed her, the last thing she laid eyes on was the Weasley girl, collapsed over the body of her nephew.

Draco had gone back into the school, despite his parents protests. He said he would meet them at home, hoping that Harry Potter would finally do what everyone had been bloody waiting for. But right now, all he could focus on was Ginny. 

And it turned out to be worthwhile; having jumped in front of her as the bright green killing curse was about to engulf her, engulfing him instead. And as he watched her collapse in front of him, he fully understood why all those years ago the sorting hat had told him that there was a little bit of Gryffindor in him. Because he was brave. Even if only a little bit.

Then black.

 

^%#%^

 

The Dark Lord was dead. Harry had killed him. But Harry didn't feel accomplished of any sort. He had walked through the Great Hall, where everyone sent him smiles - even with their dead friends and family lying beside them. 

No one had noticed yet. He didn't think anyone had noticed when it happened in the first place. While Hermione and Ron stood with the Weasleys, comforting George, who was mourning his twin, they still hadn't noticed. 

But his mind was taken away from his heartbreak for a small moment, when Narcissa Malfoy entered the hall, no husband or son on her tow. No one noticed her, but she was clearly looking for someone as her eyes scanned the crowd in panic. 

"Can I help you, Mrs. Malfoy," asked Harry, approaching her quietly. His whole opinion of the woman had changed dramatically at her actions in the woods, where she lied to the Dark Lord which would then lead to his defeat.

"Where's Draco?" she asked, her aristocratic voice quivering slightly.

"Don't know. Haven't seen him. Mrs. Weasley said she saw him somewhere in the corridors after she killed... your  _sister..."_ replied Harry, just remembering Bellatrix's relation with the Malfoys. Surprisingly, Narcissa looked unfazed, like she didn't care or she already knew.

"I know about my sister. But we all know it was for the best. Where's the corridor?" she asked. Harry pointed in the direction of the corridors leading to the Gryffindor tower, watching Mrs. Malfoy head off quickly in that direction. He wondered whether or not Draco had managed to escape death, Harry having saved his life so many times.

But his mind was soon brought back into the present as he stepped into the ruined courtyard where Voldemort had met his demise. But Harry eyes when straight to a figure, laid down next to a wall in the far corner of the courtyard. He assumed Hagrid had laid her down there, thinking she would wake up just as Harry would. Harry thought she would wake up too, until having a conversation with her on the other side that had brought him to tears. 

And as he cradled her small figure, resting his back against the wall, he knew that she would always have a place in his heart. 

And as Narcissa Malfoy found Ginny Weasley cradling her son in the same way, she knew that Draco would always have a place in hers.

But sometimes, hard sacrifices must be made for a future worth having.


	50. 49 - Aftermath

_He had woken up in a familiar setting. Kings Cross Station surrounded them, yet completely empty and everyone the colour of white. Emma wasn't there at first, it was just him and Dumbledore. Once he had spoken to Dumbledore, he thought he would return to the living, just as Emma would. But he stayed in his place, the empty air becoming almost haunting in a way._

_It was then she appeared, a sort of Halo seemed to form above her. It was then she explained to him why she wasn't coming back. Why she couldn't come back. Why she was here in the first place._

_He had lied to her._

_But all he seemed to feel was sadness. No anger._

_But then a small boy appeared next to her. With a striking resemblance to a young Tom Riddle he had seen in a memory, although still very much a toddler._

_But he had green eyes._

_Harry's eyes._

_She had then explained that her being half-dead stopped her from having a child. She had lost him. In 5th year. She named him Tom. Tom Potter._

_Then she disappeared, after their lips crashed for the last time. And he woke, on the forrest floor, next to her - but she was dead._

_^%#%^_

Ginny Weasley was standing over the cot where her newborns lay, asleep and unaware of the broken world around them. Narcissa stood beside her. This is probably the last thing the both thought they would be doing many years ago, yet here they were. Ginny's mother still didn't know about the babies, but Ginny assumed she knew about Draco after the events that had taken place at the Battle of Hogwarts. It had only been a day. 

Her true love was dead. Her brother was dead. Her best friend was dead. 

"What are you going to name them?" asked Narcissa, who was still processing her son's death.

"I'm calling the boy Draco. Draco Fredrick Malfoy," replied Ginny, her voice hollow and quiet.

"And the girl?" 

"Emma. Emma Narcissa Malfoy."

Narcissa Malfoy was surprised. Very surprised. Yet touched all the same. 

"What happens now?" asked Ginny.

"You live. You move on. Yet you treasure their memories. That's what my other sister, Andromeda, would say."

"What are you going to tell Mr. Malfoy? I don't think he'd like the idea of a  _Weasley_  in the family," said Ginny, knowing very well it was him who got her in the mess with Tom Riddle's diary.

"It doesn't matter what he thinks. The ministry's putting him in Azkaban. The only reason I'm not going there with him is because I helped Potter," she replied, with very mixed emotions. She knew her husband deserved the punishment, but she'd already lost Draco. Her grandchildren however, were very unexpected.

She has suspected Draco had been hiding something for years. His disinterest in the many beautiful pureblood girls that were presented to him, that were in the position of a possible arranged marriage, had always confused her. He had changed, after fourth year. He was less arrogant and rude, which Lucius had thought nothing of, but had shocked her. By sixth year, he was damaged by his own family, his pureblood opinions never seemed to come up in the conversation. 

She loved Lucius. She really did. But she knew it was him that eventually lead to his own son's death. Being a deatheater had ruined him, and she would have to live with knowing that for the rest of her life. 

 

^%#%^

 

Dumbledores office was silent. Hauntingly empty. The painting that lined the walls were sleeping in complete silence - something that happened very rarely. Harry stood in the middle of the office, staring around the office that was missing warmth that Dumbledore used to fill it with. Fawkes was missing, as was the sorting hat. But Harry's eyes had found what he was looking for; the missing portrait of Dumbledore that had found it's way back. His eyes were open, staring down at Harry as he approached.

"Hello Harry," he said calmly.

"Professor Dumbledore," he acknowledged.

"What can I help you with?" he asked, even know he knew exactly why Harry was here.

"Why did you let her die, even when you knew she wouldn't survive?" asked Harry, surprisingly calm at the situation.

Dumbledore sat in silence, many minutes passing as he contemplated how to answer.

"You know how it feels to have a Horcrux inside of you, don't you Harry? And you know what it felt like when you were free of it," he said.

"Yes. But I don't see how -"

"But Emma was already dead. You were very much alive. Emma may have had her own mind, own opinions, own feelings - but the rest of her was her mother in human form," he continued.

"But why would it matter? It wasn't Voldemort's Horcrux living inside of her; she wasn't evil," Harry defended.

"Yes, Harry, it wasn't Voldemort. But do you remember how Sirius and Remus used to act around Emma? It was although she was a ghost that was haunting them. Emma was almost entirely her mother in human form. Her actions, behaviours and remarkable determination were identical to those of her mother. All she had was her mind. Even her brain was her mothers. And it would have become... rather  _painful_... to live on as someone else," he responded.

"But why would it be painful?" asked Harry.

"Because she would've continued being someone who she wasn't. You and Emma feel in love because you were both damaged souls who needed mending. Much like Mr. Malfoy and Miss. Weasley, although in different ways," he responded.

"What do you mean Malfoy and Ginny were damaged souls in  _different ways?"_ Harry asked, confused at the comparison.

"Draco Malfoy was a young boy, whom during the entire course of his life had been forced into believing and acting ways that wasn't in himself. Ginny Weasley was perfectly fine - until Tom Riddle had possessed and ruined part of her back in second year. They were to broken people who needed each other, just like you and Emma were."

"Then what am I supposed to do now? Killing Voldemort didn't make me any happier. I have nothing now."

"Ah Harry, but you have almost everything."

"I don't have the girl I love!"

 "Sometimes, Harry, we find it hard to see how much we truely have, because we've lost what we most want in the world."

"I'll never be happy again," said Harry, ignoring Dumbledore's words.

"Ah, but that is where you're wrong. Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light."


	51. 50 - EPILOGUE

**11 years later...**

Draco Fredrick Malfoy and Emma Narcissa Malfoy pushed their trolleys slowly down the platform. They felt hundreds of eyes watch them as they entered the station, staring at the two figures behind them. Their step-father, Harry Potter, had always attracted attention wherever they went. Their mother, Ginny Potter nee Weasley, was also a very well known name from the Second Wizarding War only 11 years previously.

Their younger half-siblings James and Albus had to be left at home, to young to come along. Emma had been so excited during the last few months at the announcement of another sibling, hoping that this time it would be a girl who she could dress up and spoil. Draco, however, hoped this was the last of the screaming babies he would have to endure. 

After they loaded their trunks onto the Hogwarts Express, they both turned to their mother, who they were much closer to than Harry, who had only come into their lives when they were already 8 years old. 

"Have fun - but don't get into trouble. Write to us at least once a week..." said their mother, who hugged them so tightly they couldn't breathe, "and remember, it doesn't matter what house you're in. Your father would be proud no matter what."

This was the reassurance the twins needed; the situation of the houses had always annoyed them, knowing the would be judged by whatever house they were sorted into. 

And as they were both sorted into Slytherin, many hours later, they remembered once again the words their mother once told them about her best friend, whom Emma was named after,  _don't let anyone define you; you are your own person entirely._

 

And as Emma Snow, or Riddle, stared down from the heavens, she felt completely content. Yet the burning questions about her existence still haunted her mind, for many years still and many years to come. She held the small vile in her hand, staring over the pensive as she poured the contents out. 

It was now time to hear the story, of  _Isabelle Merlin Snow._


End file.
